Akatsuki House of OC2
by bonegeisha
Summary: A map maker's daughter has been kidnapped by the Akatsuki, for need of a navigator. Her best friend has been sent to retrieve her, and intends to slaughter anyone who stands in her way; but, what happens when she's caught too? -OCs -just FTLOLZ ;3
1. Retrieval's Mistaken Identity

_~~**~~ Okay, so this is an old story I worked on for a friend of mine as a companion to her story "Akatsuki House of OC"_._ I know I posted this a long time ago, but apparently when I posted I didn't understand what I was doing because I reread it and found so many errors I wanted to cry. So, I'm updating the chapters a little. Key words there, A LITTLE, lol. I've kept almost all of it the same, only going back to reword a few sentences that didn't make sense and check over some spelling that was ridiculous. This was my very first ever attempt at a Naruto fanfic lol So, while I've updated a little, like I said, I left most of it the same for authenticity XD Cut me some slack lol --Anywho, her character is Nikoru, the little map maker's daughter the Akatsuki snatched. If you want to read her version, the prelude to this version, look her up under "Nikkias"--Thankyou for reading! Hope you enjoy it at least a little! XD~~**~~_

"Retrievals Mistaken Identity"

Wind had a sound here. Summer had a sound here. The warmth of the sun set crickets and cicadas into churring all through the day; giving the emptiness of the heat a noise. The wind breathing through the thick, tall grasses, murmured like soft sighs. It would have been strikingly peaceful, had it not been Grass Country. The place appeared barren, nothing but forest and empty plains of tall grasses; all of it appeared unsettled and wild. Though, if one knew what to look for, one would see the country was as settled as any other. These ninja hid and slunk through even their own home, distrusting and hating each other as much as she distrusted and hated them. The whole of them were sneaky and vile, betraying one another and hiding much more than themselves amongst the grasses. And now, now that they were in suspicion of taking Her…she hated them even more.

The girl paused on a tree branch, panting softly as she touched the bark of the trunk, glancing around with hurried eyes. The left burned; it always ached when she peered through it. The entire journey over she had played her mission message within her mind, looping it constantly to keep herself in check and under control; to keep herself from becoming frantic. "She's somewhere on the outskirts of the grass village…You need to retrieve her with as few casualties as possible, Hokage-sama doesn't want another war on his hands. And you need to bring her back alive, unwounded, as you should be. Don't come back a failure." She wouldn't be kept out of the village if she couldn't find Her, of course, but it was understood by all that she wouldn't return without Her anyways. She suddenly caught a strong whiff of the scent, head whipping to the right as her nostrils flared, eyes widening before narrowing in calculation. Fourteen meters off…She should spot a hideout or enemy camp before she reached the fourteenth meter. She launched from the branch, her getta sliding soundlessly over the wood as she glided from tree to tree, hardly tapping the branches she lept over.

She spotted what she had expected ten meters back, crouching low on a branch when she came as close as she wanted. There was a genjutsu shielding the house from view, making it appear to be a large tree, but her keki genkai picked it out easily. Dropping from her branch she wondered who was watching her as she walked up the front steps casually. She tossed thick curls over her shoulder, rolling her neck as she did, letting it crack quietly as she laced her fingers together in front of herself, popping them loudly at the same time. It was time to get her best friend back. Forming quickly symbols with her hands she stopped, her index and forefinger creating an O in front of her lips. Taking in a deep breath, her eyes shot open, the pinwheels of her left pupil spinning as she released the air, blowing a long stream of fire at the front door for entry. She bolted inside before any sort of trap could be set off, if indeed there were any at all.

"Where is she?!" Her voice echoed sharply in the house, deepened to a pitch or rage as she looked around with a wild glint in her eyes. She had expected to be attacked from all sides, more possibly pouring in from the perimeter when they heard her attack and realized she had breached them. Instead, she was greeted with the mildly surprised face of a single boy, a bit shorter than herself.

"What did you do to the door?" She turned to face him, seeing that he was standing at the head of a hallway, and she was standing in a foyer, looking into a casually decorated living room. Had she gotten the scent wrong? The boy that had spoken was staring wide eyed at her, but appeared to be upset at the same time. He wasn't very tall, more of an average height, and had bright red hair. Thick eye liner surrounded his eyes, making him appear deeply angered and troubled.

She let her own eyes harden into a glare, "I said, where is she?!" She lunged, whipping out a kunai and holding it breast height, blade turned out to the side for a back swipe. As she struck he leaned back from, pulling his hands up to splay his fingers before her. She caught sight of the chakra strings and bounced off the wall, flipping backwards to her spot from before.

"She's quick--Deidara!" The red head shot the strings at her again, her eyes focusing in on them, fingers drumming lightly on the kunai beneath them as she bided her time for movement. Just as she jumped, a strangely masked man shot over the back of the couch to her left, flying at her with his arms out stretched to catch her. She hadn't accounted for another just yet.

"Tobi's got her!" The voice was childish, almost catching her off guard and making her stop to double-take. Instead she caught herself and managed to duck, rolling backwards just in time. The blue chakra strings tangled around the masked boy, infuriating the red head. He shook his hands to free the strings, the other boy writhing on the floor in the tangled mass.

"Tobi! Dammit!" The red head couldn't get his strings untangled and was, for the moment, preoccupied.

She stood up and smirked, turning and getting ready to infiltrate the sad excuse for a hideout. Something bumped into her foot and she flinched backwards a step, looking down with a frown as her body tensed for an attack. A small white bird was tipped on its side now, its feet kicking rhythmically in the air where it was attempting to still walk. Her brow furrowed into delicate lines as she knelt to examine the odd creature, reaching with a timid hand to right it again. When her fingers graced its fat little body and her eyes widened in registered understanding and surprise at the feel of molded clay, it was too late. The bird exploded, sending her flying backwards with a screech of rage.

She landed, jerking out a second kunai, eyes flitting this way and that as she tried to pinpoint her new attacker. She caught sight of the blonde hair as it flitted past her shoulder, leaving a scent trail of clay and fire. She spun, catching flesh with her blade before jumping onto the back of the couch.

"Bitch! You cut my face, un!" Another boy was now wiping blood from his cheek, glaring at the blood smeared over his fingers, his long blonde hair held in a high ponytail. The red head had gotten free of the one called Tobi, making them moveable opponents once again. Her eyes flit left to right, searching for strategies and escape. She tossed strands of hair out of the way, white knuckling her kunai with another series of threatening pops from her joints.

"Ooooh, lookie, lookie! She's got one eye like Tobi!" The masked boy jumped up and down, pointing at her ecstatically.

"Don't be stupid, Tobi. She has two, you can see them plain as day, un." The blonde scoughed as the red head shot more chakra strings at her.

She lept out of the way again, flipping to bounce off of the ceiling, dive bombing him with a malicious smirk. He cried out and jolted to the side, barely missing the two kunais she drove hilt deep into the flooring. She snarled, ripping them out of the flooring before lunging at him once again. His strings managed to catch one kunai and pull it away, sending it flying into a wall. She swiped his throat with the other, twirling to connect a foot with his chest before bouncing back once more. Each panted heavily as they stared each other down, glowering like predators fighting over territory.

"No, no! One eye red, like Itachi's! So, she has one eye like Tobi!" Tobi bounced again, crying out childishly. The red head jerked towards the girl first, this time, fingers out and splayed once more.

The blonde arched a brow as the other spoke, "Well, that would explain how she found this place…" He mumbled and Tobi nodded vigorously. The girl lept up, leap frogging over the red head, driving her remaining weapon into his shoulder. He screamed, collapsing to his knees, gripping the weapon with a shuddering hand as she rose behind him, turning to face him with a triumphantly smug smirk.

"But, you know no one except a little boy has eyes like Itachi, Tobi. And that non-Uchiha man." The blond shrugged, finishing a second clay bird.

He looked up and hurled it at the girl, its wings flapping to life as wind swept beneath them with the force of his pitch. But, she tugged a sinbon out of a fold in the short kimono she wore, moving too fast for their eyes to catch; failing to give it a second glance once it left her fingers. It slit through the bird easily, continuing towards the blonde. He dodged, letting the needle cut through stray strands of his ponytail.

She continued towards the bleeding red head, glowering insanely, "Tell me where she is!" She roared once more, flying at him with open hands; aiming to strangle him. Tobi launched forward at the same time. She spun towards him, noting his movements were suddenly faster and better calculated than before. She dropped low, sweeping a long leg towards him. He jumped over it, planting his hands on her shoulders and gripping down as he somersaulted over her, tugging her backwards with the tight grip.

She shrieked and reached up, gripping his hands and driving her long nails into the thinly gloved flesh, causing him to cry out and let go; the red head spotted the opening. Removing the kunai quickly he hurled it to the floor, shooting his hand out with a wince of pain. The pale blue of chakra streaked the air once again, this time wrapping around the girl's wrists and pulling her arms backwards. She screeched again, tugging against the restraints like a bound animal.

The blonde laughed and started towards her as the red head rose to his feet behind her. She lashed a foot out in anger, kicking the blonde in the jaw, snapping his teeth together and splitting his lip open. "Gahh! You whore!" He snarled and she glared, still struggling against the bonds.

"Let me go and tell me where the girl is." She growled, narrowing her eyes at him, as if she were in the position to be giving orders. He spat blood at her feet, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He got ready to say something when two things stopped him. He caught sight of the glimmering red eye behind the bell of chocolate hair over the left side of her face; and the rest of the group came in the back door. The blonde turned and looked at the kitchen doorway, seeing Kisame and Itachi starting through it.

"Just in time…Itachi, you've gotta see this."

Itachi arced a brow, walking around the blonde boredly, eyes roving his smirking face before glancing down and over the girl. She was struggling with the bonds again, growling and looking down at them in frustration, as though she would bite through them if able. Feeling a new set of eyes on her she whipped her head up, baring her teeth in a feral hiss. When she caught sight of Itachi's face, she froze, her body falling still as her jaw slacked and eyes widened.

Kisame walked up behind the raven, easily looking over his head and down towards the girl. "Another kunoichi?" His voice rumbled as it fell from his lips, the blonde shrugging with his eyes attached suspiciously to the now still girl.

"She 'sploded in! Demanding for "the girl" and fighting like a mad woman!" Tobi bounced around Kisame and the blonde, flapping his arms wildly as he did. The fight hadn't seemed to have affected him at all. Kisame watched him with interested eyes before looking back to the girl, who seemed to have forgotten everyone was there except for the Uchiha.

Itachi rolled a shoulder, looking at the blonde boy again and away from her. "Why do I care what you've drug in to amuse yourselves with?" His voice was listless as he spoke. She knew that voice. She knew that face. She knew those eyes.

"One eye like Tobi! One eye like Itachi! Lookie, lookie! One eye, one eye, one eye!" Tobi grinned behind his mask and pointed to the oddly stilled girl.

"What's he babbling about?" Itachi mumbled, glancing dismissively at Tobi, then at the blonde again. The red head tugged tighter on the girl's bonds, as the blonde gestured to her a second time, grinning now.

"Take a closer look at her eyes, is what he means." He muttered, sparking the man's interest enough to cause him to kneel at his feet, feminine brow furrowing as he reached out to brush hair from her left eye with strangely gentle fingers. She caught a whiff of his flesh as the inside of his wrist brushed past her nose. Absently, her eyes closed, a quiet murr leaving her as she lost herself to a scent she knew all too well. Though masked with others she didn't recognize, she knew that base scent. Gods, how she had missed that smell. It made her shiver to have it so close to her once more.

"Open your eyes again, kunoichi." The dead voice commanded, her eyes shooting open without her telling them to. She looked up slowly, once again settling her eyes on his own. He flinched away from her; she couldn't tell if in disgust or shock. "Is this someone's idea of a joke...?!" He hissed, looking up between all of them with a vicious glint to the crimson of his eyes.

She sat up a little, "Don't you recognize me?! It's me!" He frowned at the sound of her confusion and desperation. Everyone else did too, looking between them with new interest.

"Don't act as if you know me...! Who are you?! Where did you learn that technique?!" He snarled at her, becoming enraged as she sat with a cluelessly helpless look on her face.

She frowned, once again letting the confusion play over her features in a painfully obvious way. "What do you mean "learn that technique?" It's mine…Ours." She murmured the last word, dropping her eyes as they softened in memory. He fixed her with another look of disgust, pain flickering in her eyes as she looked back up at him.

"What did you do for that eye?!" He commanded, pressing on, trying to get answers before she enraged him to the point of killing her beforehand.

"Sasuke, it's me!" She pleaded suddenly, everyone looking to her in surprise.

"How do you know that name?! Who are you?!" Itachi barked again, voice rising and control fading as she continued to find new ways to anger him; appearing to not even realize it. She shook her head wildly, as if in denial of what was going on and what was being said to her face. She began to tug violently at the strings again, making the blonde touch Itachi on the shoulder lightly.

"You may wanna step back, she kicks when she's like that." He warned, but Itachi failed to acknowledge him or move as suggested. She began to writhe, managing to get to her knees before looking up at him again.

"Sasuke! I know you haven't forgotten me! You know me, Sasuke!" She cried out, begging now, failing to stop her squirming.

After a moment she got to her feet, turning enough in the bindings before the red head could tighten them, managing to connect her foot with his jaw too. He went reeling backwards, releasing her with a cry of anger and hurt. As soon as the strings let go she lunged forward, the blonde moving to catch her by the throat and protect the Uchiha; she palmed heeled him to the nose without a second glance.

She grabbed Itachi's cloak front desperately, "Sasuke, it's me! Hotaru! You remember me, you have to!" She pleaded loudly, Itachi only responding to snarl at her. He slapped her away, causing her to step back and touch her cheek in horror. She froze, staring blankly at their feet, her fingertips sliding over the red of her cheek, her body beginning to shiver lightly. Her brows furrowed again, the house stilling around them.

"Don't you think you were a little hard on her, Itachi? She seems really confused…" Kisame mumbled quietly, but Itachi glared up at him, shutting him up quickly. Slowly the girl looked up at all of them, as if suddenly remembering where she was and what she was doing, then she looked at Itachi again and all of the pain came back into her eyes. Tears rolled down her cheeks in fat tracks and she drew her bottom lip in to keep it from quivering.

"I-I don't understand…you LOVED me, Sasuke Uchiha…How could you FORGET me?" She looked to the floor, sniffling and trying to get her composure again.

Itachi snorted in disgust once more, looking away as he waved her off, "Feh, Sasuke's my little brother." Her eyes opened in horror, remaining glued to the floor as the words continued to sink in. "I'm not Sasuke." He continued on, reiteratting his point; driving the pain home. For a moment she didn't move. She didn't breathe, the air caught in her throat. Her tears stopped, and her body tensed. Then, she collapsed to her knees.

Flashing before her eyes, replaying like a sick movie on a big screen, she watched it; she could SEE it. She could see HIM. The picture…the bloodied picture on the coffee table…"You…" Slowly she looked up at him, pupils dilating with the pain of the realization as her eyes focused on his own. "You slaughtered them! ALL of them!" She jabbed a finger at him, screeching in horrified rage as she did. She looked deep into his eyes, her own burning even worse than before. Her body began to quiver again, her fist clinching and opening at her sides as her lips paled with rage. Everyone tensed and readying for her to make the first move once again. "You killed them!" She shrieked again, this time slowly pulling a kunai out of its leg holder, rising to her feet just as slowly; eyes never leaving his own.

Itachi smirked now, "Tell me something I don't know." He dodged a swipe and she let out a cry of rage; sounding more like a banshee now than anything human. She was moving faster than before, now too much for them to counter, let alone comprehend. Now it was simply a battle between sharingons. "Who are you?" He ducked another swipe, failing to send back any counters of his own.

She grinned madly at him, "I'm the one you overlooked." With a laugh she committed another suicide lunge. When she did he caught her wrist, twisting it easily, the bones snapping loudly, her knife falling to the floor with a dull thud. She screamed, their quick movements stopped as suddenly as they had come; everyone watching once more.

She had never been able to wrap her mind around the idea of giving in though; especially when she was this blinded with rage. She snarled, her leg shooting up and bending at the knee, her foot planting against his stomach before she gave a hefty shove. He let go and she backed towards the kitchen, holding onto her wounded wrist as she readied for a second round.

"Hey, can anyone tell me where Kakuzu is? I need him to sew up my teddy." She spun on her heel quickly, mouth falling open as surprise once again took over her features. The girl that had spoken stopped dead in her tracks, dropping the beheaded bear she had been talking about as she stared at the wounded kunoichi, and the girl stared right back. They cried out in unison, running for one another, their bodies slamming together in a tight embrace. Hotaru whimpered, holding her shattered wrist out to the side to avoid hurting it further, but burying her face in the girl's hair, wrapping her good arm tightly around her.

"Gods…did they hurt you?! Are you okay?!" She pleaded, pulling back and looking over the beaming girl.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. They just needed a navigator." She waved it off casually, laughing softly as she did, hugging her best friend a second time.

"Well, they can find another. I'm taking you home." She took hold of the petite blonde's hand and turned, starting off as if nothing before hand had happened. Itachi side stepped in front of her, causing her to look up with narrowed eyes and thinly pressed lips.

"Neither of you are leaving. I won't have a false Uchiha parading around to give the clan a bad name." She put a hand on her hip, looking at the set of his face with a sarcastic glower.

"As if you havn't already done that?" She arched a brow, tilting her head as the word "murderer" screamed its way through her head. "And I AM a full blooded Uchiha. I could have this eye no other way, you KNOW that."

"It's true, Itachi...I would know..." Nikoru murmured quietly, residing in the girl's shadow, though she was taller than her by a few inches, even with her in getta.

"You stole it. Just like that fool shinobi, Kakashi." He sneered at her, ignoring Nikoru's comment. Hotaru's eyes narrowed farther and her fist clinched at her side once again.

"He's not a fool! He didn't ask for that eye! And mine's a damned BIRTH DEFECT! I'm the real thing!" She shrieked, stomping a foot and glaring.

"I don't care WHAT it is, you're staying. And so is she." He let out a long breath, as though calming himself from the little bout, before turning and stepping quietly into the background. The cloaked boys parted, letting him pass without a word, all of them watching as he gestured absently for them to move forward. Turning the blonde and the red head started in on the girls.

"Wait! Wait! Why me with her?!" Nikoru whimpered as the chakra strings wound around her body, beginning to instinctively struggling as Hotaru began thrashing about as wildly as before. He failed to answer, rather started down the hallway on the opposite end of the house, ignoring their cries.

"I'll kill you, Itachi! I'll destroy you from the inside out--just like you did him!" Hotaru shouted at him, writhing in her binds as she was drug down the hallway. "I'll never let you live for what you did to him! For driving him away from me!" She shouted, kicking her feet wildly, "You killed my parents you fucker!" Her shrieks finally died out and Itachi closed his eyes in relief, pausing at the head of the hallway to revel in the silence.

Through all his anger though, through all his rage, he couldn't help but listen to a quiet thought in the back of his mind. He could restart a pure Uchiha clan. The thought enraged him even more, especially the fact that he was even partially entertaining the idea; but it made him smile too. And it would drive his little brother even closer to the brink of insanity than he already was.


	2. Getting to Know You Better

_~~**~~ I should've said this in the first chapter, but better late than never, right? lol Anywho, these chapters are not REALLY chapters. I wrote this story in short bursts and bits and pieces, so I've strung them together as chronologically as my friend and I can get them, but there are still hunks of time missing. I can't help it, I'm not going to be going back and writing any more to this piece, so I'm very sorry for the inconvenience^^; It strings together pretty nicely though, and since I'm going back to edit the chapters, I'll add in what I can to make sure they string together even better. Thankyou for understanding and continuing to read! Enjoy! ;3~~**~~_

"Getting to Know You Better"

Hotaru huffed, tossing hair out of her eyes and looking up at Sasori as he stood over her. "You know, y'all don't have to keep me all bound up." She grumbled and Kisame grinned widely, settling down on the couch by her.

"I don't' know, you're not like Nikoru, you're prone to fits." He scratched a sand paper clad chin with black nails as his voice rumbled up from somewhere deep in his belly.

She growled low, "So are y'all! Shouldn't y'all be bound too?!" She snapped at him as Tobi scuttled over, plopping down on the floor near her. Nikoru followed him, sitting near him with a smile and spreading a coloring book and crayons out on the floor in front of them.

"We're in the position to be making the demands here, little lady!" Tobi mocked loudly, bursting into giggles soon after. He took hold of his crossed legs and leaned backwards, almost falling over as he laughed.

Sasori shook his head, "Foolish as he is, he has a point. We're the ones in charge, not you." He muttered and Hotaru narrowed her eyes at him over her shoulder.

"Shut up, chakra boy. I highly doubt you're in charge of ANYTHING around here." She snorted softly, then turned to watch Nikoru and Tobi coloring again. Kisame chuckled at her words, Sasori bristling behind her. His fingers flexed and the strings tightened around her body, causing her to cough before he jerked his hands backwards, pulling her into the back of the couch with such force he knocked the wind out of her for a moment.

"Again, you're in no position to be speaking in such a way." He murmured through glinting eyes, loosening the strings enough to let her breathe freely again. She coughed once more, closing her eyes to get the spots to go away.

"I pity tha fool who doesn't unda'stand when tah shut up!" Tobi mocked her again, deepening his voice this time to do so, once more following it with another gale of high pitched giggles. Hotaru made a mental note to bribe Kakuzu into sewing his mouth shut.

She glared over her shoulder at Sasori again, watching him give her a small smirk as his arms remained steadily folded over his narrow chest. The fingers peering from the crook of his arm wiggled lightly at her, the gossamer blue strings attached to them catching the light as they moved with him, reminding her bitterly of the hold he held over her. She coughed out a laugh, rolling her eyes instead of succumbing to the anger he was trying to incite in her.

"Listen, pansy. When you can fight me mono-e-mono, without those fucking strings, THEN I'll start taking you seriously; MAYBE even manage to find you a little threatening." She smirked now, Kisame chuckling once again, the couch shivering with him. He was so big and so powerful that even his voice made things shiver; yet he was the most laid back one here. It was slightly odd to her. Sasori twitched slightly, jerking the strings tighter again and making her gasp for air before letting up on her.

"I'd watch out, little kunoichi. Even if you don't respect him, he still has hold of your well being right now." Kisame reminded her, watching her double over and pant softly, letting the air seep back into her lungs once more.

"Get yer hands off me, you damned dirty apes!" Tobi laughed wildly.

"Exactly! Do just what he said! DO IT!" Hotaru cried out, staring at Tobi and beginning to squirm in her binds. When she got out of them she didn't know if she was going to hug Tobi or kill him, but she did know she was going to strangle Sasori with his own chakra strings.

Nikoru giggled, "Isn't he fantastic? He's one of my favorite parts of being here." She beamed and Hotaru huffed, closing her eyes briefly for a moment, as if to keep her patience.

"Nikoru, do me a favor, hun." She murmured and Nikoru nodded at her, smiling softly.

"Anything, Hotaru-chan." She offered and Hotaru looked to her tiredly.

"Get them to let me go. A REAL friend would do that." Her voice was calm and nonchalant, but the green of her eyes sparked with the livid rage building beneath them. Nikoru only shook her head, grinning and going back to coloring.

"I can't, Hotaru-chan. Itachi told me I had to sit here and wait on him, that he had a job for me. He said I'd get candy if I did it right." She prattled on casually, as if she hadn't just ignored a request from her best friend.

Kisame smiled and nodded, nudging Hotaru in what he thought was a light way, even though he knocked her body into the arm of the couch. Instead of doing anything though she just sighed heavily and leaned against it, beginning to give up in a fight that she was out numbered in. "Yes, poor little kunoichi. You had better watch out, Itachi's been talking about you nonstop since yesterday."

Here Hotaru looked up with some interest, tilting her head at him as she listened. Why would he care about her? "Ever since he sent you away yesterday he's been talking about you nonstop, I think he even dreamed about you last night." He grinned at her with sharp teeth, like this was a feat she should be proud of or something. Did he not understand that she hated Itachi? That with every fiber of her being she wanted to rip his tongue out of his mouth?

Nikoru looked up at this information, grinning every bit as wide. "Awww, that's so sweet! I wonder if he's going to try and get together with her! That would be adorable!" She cooed happily, clasping her hands in front of her like it was a terribly romantic idea.

"Oh shut up, Nikoru. We're not getting together!" Hotaru snapped loudly, not enjoying the idea or the way the conversation was beginning to head.

"Tobi's a good boy at weddings! Tobi LOVES weddings!" Tobi laughed happily too, ignoring Hotaru's comment and looking to Nikoru with a beam.

"Oh a wedding would be beautiful, Tobi! What a good idea!" She laughed happily, holding hands with him and bouncing slightly.

"I said STOP IT!" Hotaru barked, getting angrier and angrier by the minuet. She was marrying one person and one person only, and though he and Itachi looked close to the same they were NOTHING alike.

"But, Hotaru, the idea of a wedding-" Nikoru looked up with pleading eyes and Hotaru's shot venom at her.

"I said NO, dammit! Now, shut up!" She barked loudly, stomping a foot and glaring.

Nikoru looked to Tobi, who looked to her, a mischievous smile splitting her face when she caught the same mischievous glint in Tobi's eye. "Tobi likes white weddings. Will it be white like Tobi likes?" He wondered, tilting his head, happily contemplating this.

"Oh, yes. Hotaru's far from a virgin, but she's a Shinto, so we'll have to pretend she's pure so she can have a white wedding; just like Tobi likes." Nikoru beamed, waving a hand dismissively at Hotaru as she began to fume. Kisame laughed loudly, the vibrations from it rocking the couch.

"Looks like you've lost your voice, little kunoichi." He grinned at her and she sighed, looking off to the kitchen door way with now tired eyes. She would just tune them out. All of them she would just tune out.

"Silence." She looked up at the voice, seeing Itachi sulk into the now quieted room. She let her eyes narrow as Nikoru and Tobi snickered, wondering if Itachi had heard their talk. "Kisame, move it." He walked around Sasori and the couch, standing by Kisame and waiting for him to obey. Kisame did as told, walking in front of Hotaru and muffing her hair as Itachi sat down beside her.

She huffed up at Kisame as he stood beside her arm of the couch, folding his arms over his chest and waiting on things to move on. Hotaru turned and looked to Itachi, feeling his eyes boring holes into her back. Orbs of blood red stared back at her, marred by three commas running around his pupils. She wondered if his eyes could ever return to their normal color and state. She wondered if his eyes burned from overuse like hers did from time to time.

Her thoughts were interrupted when she realized how uncomfortably silent it was in the room suddenly. Itachi just kept staring at her and everyone else had started to look away and other places, as if they were witnessing something they shouldn't see and were now awkwardly waiting for things to progress. She had to break this; she couldn't have Tobi and Nikoru making any more of the wrong wedding plans.

"So, when are you going to get chakra boy here to let me go? I'm a little tired of him following me everywhere." She muttered, looking at her feet on the floor. Her getta felt odd suddenly, her entire outfit did, as though she didn't belong in it. Itachi simply continued to stare at her, then flicked his wrist at Sasori. Hotaru looked at him quickly, then over her shoulder at the confused and reluctant red head, then back at Itachi.

"Are you sure, Itachi? She may try to attack you again." Sasori offered, but Itachi's gaze only flickered to him for a second before going back to Hotaru.

"Well, if you do your job right, Sasori, you'll stop her before she does." Itachi's voice was a deadly calm and Sasori immediately let go of Hotaru, grumbling about being unappreciated as he folded his arms over his chest once more.

Hotaru sat frozen for a moment, wondering what she should do now and why he trusted her suddenly. Then she moved her arms, beginning to flex her hands and get the blood flowing through her body again. She glanced over at Itachi, "Okay, so what do I owe you for that one?" She mumbled, scooting a little closer to the arm of the couch and a little farther away from him; she'd rather be near the giant fish man than him. After a long moment he flicked his wrist dismissively at her again, finally closing his eyes momentarily and looking away from her. She felt her body sigh in relief as he did.

"Bring out your sharingon." The low worded commands he was giving her and everyone else were beginning to bother her. It was scary how much he sounded like Sasuke, or the other way around. Her body did as commanded without her telling it to, so use to following Sasuke without question that it was having trouble deciphering between the two. He looked over at her once more, so did everyone else.

Her eye did just what other Uchiha's did. The iris suddenly bled the red coloring, her pupil dilating briefly before resizing to fit the lighting amount, then the commas circled around her pupil until they settled in their normal spots. She was only on the second level of sharingon, only with two commas. She had yet to kill her best friend. He waited briefly, and then sighed. "Why do you claim to be an Uchiha? I wiped them all out. I left none behind." He waved another dismissive hand at her and she glared.

"THIS is what you brought me out here for? THIS is why you got him to drag me out of that room and into here where I had to sit and listen to THEIR babble for gods know how long till you decided to show up?" She pointed between Nikoru and Tobi, even Kisame, glaring at Itachi the whole time. He was staring off at the wall in front of them, indifferent to her feelings or the situation. It was pissing her off as much as He use to when He did that. "You drug me out here so you could interrogate and question me about my heritage?! Just because you can't believe that you might of failed?!" She snapped and slammed a fist down on the couch cushions between them.

Now Itachi looked over to her, his emotionless face wavering for a brief second as she claimed he had failed in his mission the clan. "I do not FAIL, kunoichi." The tone was ominous and every bit as threatening as he looked. But she only glared more.

"I HAVE A NAME! Stop calling me "kunoichi" and start treating me like a person and calling me Hotaru!" She barked loudly. He waited for a moment, then smiled.

"Why don't you start by telling me how you claim to have gotten away from me?" She sucked in a deep breath through her teeth, about ready to attack him just like Sasori had claimed she would. She closed her eyes for a moment, figuring it would be better to just tell him what he wanted to know. The more he realized she was truly the one that got away, the more she could rub it in his face. Everyone looked at her and waited for her to start, interested in seeing what she would say.

"I was in the Sand Village at the time." She muttered, keeping her eyes closed as she helplessly watched her past flow before her eyes again, the sequence of images unable to stop. Nikoru nodded to Itachi when he glanced down at her, so he looked to Kisame, then looked back to Hotaru. Kisame grinned again and reached into his cloak pocket, pulling out a piece of hard candy and tossing it to Nikoru, who caught it and beamed, popping it into her mouth. They did have a deal.

Nikoru was their lie detector. She got a piece of candy for every right answer Hotaru gave them. And two for every lie she rooted out for them. "My father was an ambassador for Konoha, in a way. He traveled to the other villages a lot and I went with him. We were in the sand village when you came through." She saw images of her and Garra playing, felt the pain of leaving him, the heaviness of the ring he had given her to show their childishly though up never ending circle of friendship. She reached up and touched it, having claimed for years it was an omamori from one of the small shrines in the Uchiha section of town. Nikoru nodded again, and again, was given a piece of candy.

"We came back just after you had killed everyone and burned the place. My father and I were given another place to stay, but he locked himself in his office, leaving the seven year old me to take care of him and myself." Anbu Kakashi holding her close as her father screamed for her mother and little sister. "He killed himself, telling me to become the great ninja he had always dreamed I would be. I was never told of Sasuke and he was never told of me…It was to protect us both from each other, and to protect me from you...We were put on the same squad, under Kakashi's guidance, and that's how we met." Looking at the symbol on Sasuke's back and remembering everything for the first time. Sasuke and her screaming at each other in the garden, doubting one another for being a true Uchiha; just like now.

Nikoru nodded once again, nomming on her third piece of candy. Itachi waited, but Hotaru had told him all she wanted to for now. She opened her eyes and the sharingon was gone, in place of it, her normal green eyes.

"What's your relationship with my little brother? Are you just one of those foolish girls?" He almost snarled this at her, making her glare and slowly look over to him.

"What do YOU care?" She growled and they stared each other down for a moment.

"What was your relationship with him?" Itachi asked one more time.

She huffed in annoyance, "Why should I tell you?! So you can use that against him too?!" She snapped her head back towards him, eyes narrowed into fine slits, lips pressed together so tightly they were almost white. "I will NOT become a tool for you to use against him." She hissed and he smiled; a look she took to mean she had no choice in the matter.

"Just tell me." He still failed to offer her a reason, but she followed his orders once more without meaning to.

She smiled herself, "I was his lover." If he could give her palely worded commands she could give him empty responses. Everyone stared at her hard for her response, having seen it coming and yet not. Only Nikoru failed to move, but she did nod and hold her hand up to Kisame. He gave her the candy without looking at her, still staring in surprise at the back of Hotaru's head. Itachi was giving her a look of utter disgust, but some part of his eyes flickered with a malicious happiness she wasn't comfortable with.

"You were, were you? Then why did he leave you behind?" This remark stung; something she had never gotten over and never forgiven Sasuke for doing. Itachi seemed to know this and was getting her back for the response he hadn't wanted to hear.

"H-he…he said I couldn't help him in his quest for power. That I would only get in the way…" She mumbled, this time seeing Nikoru nod slowly and hold up her hand, seeming to focus intently on hers and Tobi's coloring book.

Itachi smirked, "So are you SURE you were his LOVER? And not just a piece of ASS he used to take his mind off of revenge?" This remark hurt worse than anything else he had said to her. She fought back tears, biting at her lower lip so hard it bled. Her brows furrowed determinedly and she jumped up, spinning on her heel to stare down at him coldly, clenching a fist in front of herself.

"I WAS Sasuke's lover! He DID love me! Whether you like it or not, your little brother DID have happiness when he was with me! Sasuke LOVED me!" She snapped at him, stomping her foot in assurance of all of this to herself. Itachi leaned back into the couch, smirking once again. He was having too much fun with this. Some part of her thought that he had been working up to this the whole time.

"He loved you so much he abandoned you in pursuit of power and his older brother. I had forgotten how beautiful young love could be." Sasori spoke before Itachi could. Hotaru jerked her head towards him, seeing him smiling smugly at her, having gotten her for all her remarks to him earlier.

"You son'va bitch! He DID love me!" She shrieked, lunging over the back of the couch towards him. Itachi jumped up, Nikoru flinching to her feet at the same time. Sasori fell backwards, landing on his ass in surprise. Nikoru grabbed Hotaru by the hair before she could fall onto Sasori, holding her kunai high above her head. Hotaru screeched in rage, getting ready to spin on the blonde when Kisame grabbed her, jerking her tightly into the strength of his chest.

"Look at what your friend just saved you from before you attack her, little kunoichi." Hotaru stopped struggling against him, looking down at Sasori. A jointed tail had sprung from the belly of his cloak, the tip glimmering at her in the light of the day spilling through the windows. She would've impaled herself had she fallen onto him as planned.

He grinned at her, "Do you still think I am weak?!" He wondered arrogantly, getting to his feet again as the tail retracted with the soft hiss of metal. She laughed, looking away from him and to Nikoru with an apology in her eyes.

"Of course I do. You're afraid to fight me hand to hand. You always have to have something to protect yourself with." She murmured with a small nod of apology towards Nikoru, as though he weren't even worth her full attention in a conversation.

"Kisame, why don't you release her and let me show her how I earned this cloak?" He leered, clicks and whirrs of metal whisping from within his cloak as he settled into an offensive stance, his face empty of anything but a glint in his eye. Kisame shook his head though, ignoring the boy.

"Enough!" Everyone looked to Itachi again, who was, apparently, upset the spot light had been stolen from him. "Sasori, leave!" He pointed to the door and Sasori grumbled, getting up and stalking off as told. Itachi motioned for Kisame to let Hotaru go and he did as told, dropping her to the floor to allow her to brush herself off and right her clothing. She looked up at Itachi, wanting revenge for what he had been going to say to her too. She knew he had been going to say the same thing to her Sasori had, Sasori had just gotten there first.

"Itachi-san, would you like to know something else about me and Sasuke?" She cooed softly, her lashes lowering as her whole demeanor softened towards him. His eyes turned back to her, only vaguely interested in what she had to say if she wasn't spoken to first.

"He was REALLY good in bed. I would go so far as to say better than you; if I can tell anything by appearances." She grinned, putting her kunai away and her hands on her hips. Nikoru nodded happily, snickering along with Tobi as Kisame bit his lip in effort not to laugh and offend his friend. Instead he busied himself with giving Nikoru the candy she had earned by nodding. Itachi glared viciously, "I mean, I won't go into all the wet and horny details, but he was REAL good. One of those real rough riders, you know? Liked to put bruises on yah and bite real hard, and the more you screamed the better it got too." She waved her hand dismissively at him, mocking his motion from earlier. She looked down at Tobi and Nikoru, "Poor Nikoru knows. She can vouch for that one, 'cause we kept her up a lot at night. All the banging around and screaming…right, Nik?" Hotaru reached into Kisame's pocket for him that time, grabbing a piece of candy and tossing it to Nikoru as she cackled happily and caught it, falling into Tobi's lap as they laughed together.

Hotaru looked back to Itachi, who looked like he was about to lunge at her. She tilted her head, "Tell me again now, how many girls have YOU fucked while hiding out here?" She murmured, arching a brow as his emotionless facade finally broke. He was absolutely livid.

"Shut it! Now!" Everyone got quiet except for Hotaru, who snorted a laugh and looked down at her fingernails. You know, they all had their nails painted; maybe she should paint hers too. It had been a long time since she had put a color on them...they looked dull compared to everyone else's.

"My little brother couldn't have loved a whore like you! He's incapable of the emotion, let alone for someone as vile as you!" Itachi barked at her, pointing an accusatory finger as she looked boredly at him. "I've SEEN Sasuke recently. I know who he's hiding out with, what he's doing…WHERE he is." Hotaru now looked at him with more interest than she meant to show.

She took a quick step forward, clenching her fist to keep it from reaching out for him and the answers he claimed to hold. "Y-you do?" Her words got quiet and he smiled just as smugly as before, happy to have the upper hand once again.

"I know EXACTLY where he is, what he's doing, and who he thinks about." The last part was a bluff, but she was too enticed to really notice.

"Tell me! Tell me where he is! Please, Itachi!" Hotaru started to beg again, Sasuke always able to get the better of her emotions and her mind.

Nikoru looked up, seeing the pain written on her face and sitting up completely. "Hotaru, even if he told you, you wouldn't be able to go find him. You know that. Sasuke doesn't want to be bothered right now; he's basically training to fight Itachi again." She pointed out quietly, watching Hotaru's eyes narrow for a moment, then return to their pleading state.

"Shut up, Nikoru! You don't know that!" She snapped, glaring quickly at her then turning back to Itachi. "If he could just see me again…If he could just see me like I am now…" She whimpered, looking down at herself and gripping her necklace tightly for some long lost comfort. "I KNOW he'd want to come back…I just know it." With that she walked over to Itachi, standing in front of him and staring at him with big, begging eyes. "Please, Itachi…Please. Tell me where he is...I'll do anything...!" She waited as he studied her once more, unmoved by her words, yet loving the power over her.

"I want you on your knees." She hesitated a moment, her logical mind suddenly taking over, suddenly making her wonder if he was lying his ass off to her. She couldn't scent a lie, but it meant nothing in her current state; her desperate mind would suppress a scent it didn't want to pick up, that she knew.

"Ni-Nikoru…if I can't smell a lie…is it there at all?" She turned her head towards Nikoru, still watching Itachi to see if the offer continued to stand. Nikoru winced, not wanting to see Hotaru reduced to this. She rose to her feet, reaching out for her conflicted friend.

"Yes…there are those who can mask their scents. You told me that yourself, don't you remember?" She tilted her head slightly, Kisame watching the bond between the two of them with interested eyes. Tobi had fallen silent too, now sitting on the floor and watching them with a darkened eye.

Hotaru felt her knees buckle at the thought of holding Sasuke close again; she got ready to fall when Nikoru spoke again. "Don't do it, Hotaru. Come here…Sasuke would never want you to beg for him." She reminded her and Hotaru thought about it. Sasuke hated it when she begged for anything, let alone if she had begged for him. That was what had drawn him to her, the fact that she hadn't chased him around and begged him for a date like the other girls; the fact that she had held her dignity and let him come to her.

Itachi arched a brow as he watched her eyes harden with determination once again, "Fuck you." With that she turned and jumped over the back of the couch, taking hold of Nikoru's hand. The warmth of the girl's hand reminded her that even if Sasuke was forever gone to her, she had others who loved her; who were just as warm and were just as protective.

She closed her eyes and sighed, turning and looking over her shoulder to Itachi, who was smiling at her in a way she didn't recognize now. No one recognized that look matter of factly; but it was gone as soon as it came. "You were lying to me, weren't you?" She tilted her head back towards him and he nodded.

"And you wouldn't have known had your friend not been here to save you. An Uchiha would have known." She closed her eyes tightly, knowing that she had condemned herself to be a false Uchiha forever in his eyes.

"It's a fuckin' birth defect." She mumbled, but he didn't appear to be listening.

"Itachi, where can Hotaru sleep?" Nikoru tried to change the subject; looking over at him and watching him shrug. He was starting to walk off, Kisame beginning to follow him into the kitchen. He paused for a second, Kisame pausing behind him, glancing over his broad shoulder at them before looking back down at the raven. Slowly Itachi came to look over his shoulder at them too, violent male intent hiding in the blood of his eyes.

"Let her sleep with Hidan."


	3. Go Sleep with Hidan

"Go Sleep with Hidan"

Fear was a smell she thought disgusting, and she was especially disgusted she fell asleep with it on her. It was a scent difficult to describe to a nose that couldn't pick it up, but anyone who could generally didn't like it. She had fallen asleep curled into a little ball, in a borrowed shirt, and miserably afraid.

Her dreams were plagued with images of Sasuke and Itachi, her heart and mind confused the more she thought about them. Sasuke would never forgive her for being so close to his brother and doing nothing about it…yet he would hate her even more if she managed to take down Itachi without him. She twisted in her sleep, his face haunting her with the laughter and smiles she once took for granted. Would she EVER sleep well if she remained here? Even if not in this room?

A strange smell filled her nostrils, changing the course of her dream and making her frown lightly in her sleep. Though plagued, the slumber was too heavy and potent to break. The scent was earthen, but foreign, like a strange clay she had never walked over before. Something soft ran over her eyes, causing them to flutter. It brushed down the bridge of her nose, pausing over her parted lips; as if hesitating. Touches to her cheeks turned her dreams to a new and familiar face.

Brightly beaming and laughing loudly, offering her his hand before another brushed her cheek and touched her shoulder, making her look up at his calming smile instead. "Naruto…Kashi…" The words tumbled from her lips with a light smile. Lips were touched once more before the warmth of another mouth was on her own, drawing back slowly, tugging on her bottom lip with a soft breath of a laugh. "Sasuke…" She moaned with a pale smile, one that was barely there. The touches, the scent, they traveled down her throat, tilting her chin up and head back with a quiet laugh. "Kiba…?" Whimpered, in hope, almost desperate to see his face; but it wasn't him.

"Garra…n-no…!" The thought caught her off guard, but struck hard. She tried to roll, to move from what her clouded mind thought was his earthen smell and mocking laughter. There was a sharp pain. Sharp enough to jolt her awake, causing her eyes to snap open in hurt and confused panic. "Stop!" She gasped and tried to sit up, realizing she couldn't and it only made the pain worse. Now her eyes flit all over, searching for answers and surroundings as the opiate of sleep left her mind to painfully clear and rational thoughts.

Candles. Lots and lots of soft lit candles. That same foreign clay smell coming from two bowls on the night stand near her head. A knife sitting among them, glinting in the wink of a close candle flame, leering with malicious intent. Her wrists were tied to the bedposts above her head, barbed wire, already dotted with her blood, wrapped tightly around the pale flesh. Breath coming faster now, heart beating with more terror than she was use to.

Shouldn't have gone to sleep, shouldn't have been so foolish. Didn't know it would go this far. There was a presence near her…strong and threatening. It was on her. She had been so busied with figuring out what was going on she had ignored it. Looking up slowly she saw a face emerge from the black emptiness above her.

Starch white markings illuminated the face in the candle light, the rest lost to the darkness. It was a painted skill, she knew that, but it was oddly done. The cheeks cut off at sharp angles, so did the mouth, which was narrower than it should be. It was strangely more frightening than a normal, rounded skull. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Part of her was in pain and horrified, the other part of her was enraged that this could happen to her. The face smirked, fingers reaching out and brushing over her cheek in too familiar of a way. The thumb of his hand began to stroke her cheek as he cupped it, as if smearing something or wiping something off.

"You think of alot've men when you dream." His voice was deep and ominous, but had an undertone of pleasure to it. His eyes gleamed in the dim lighting of the room, "How many have touched you like this? Leaned over you in the middle of the night like this?" His voice lowered, lips resting near her ear, his breath warm and moist. "How many dream of their hands running over your curves at night? Of fucking you again?" The tip of his tongue ran warmly over the curve of her ear and she quivered, clenching her fist and closing her eyes against it.

"Stop…" She hissed, managing to find her voice as he sat up once again and smirked at her once more. She glared up at him, "You know nothing! It could be family I dream of! You have no idea!" She snarled, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Hmmm…not with the way your body reacts to them." He cooed, his hand reaching behind himself to run over her thigh, pausing on the inside of it as he smiled calmly. "So warm…I bet if I moved any closer you'd be wet enough for a fuck too." Her eyes shot open as his fingers flinched, threatening to move to find out.

"Don't you dare! Get off me! Get off! You don't know anything!" She cried out, jerking up right in effort to shove him away, her bindings digging deeply into her wrists. He pulled back far enough to avoid her teeth-just incase-and laughed quietly again. She yelped in pain and fell onto her back once more, hands quivering from shock. "Get-off-me." She hissed once she got her mind back; pushing the pain into the back of it, in effort to keep conscious.

He tilted his head, "And what? Leave you here to bleed to death? Fuck no, dear." Once more he leaned over her, murring in a mockingly loving voice. He reached up, running a finger over the skin that bulged and bled around the now tightened barbed wire. She winced, sucking in a deep breath through her teeth, making him smile."One drop of your delicious blood and I have power over you for the rest of your life…Just one drop and I can kill you as easily as I want." He grinned wildly at her, suddenly looking a little more insane than she felt comfortable with. He showed her his finger, covered in her blood.

"No matter what you think or what you do, you won't have power over me. I'm too much for ANY man to control." She laughed coldly at him, trying to forget her fear and pain by replacing it with rage. He grinned again, as if this was the response he wanted, reaching for the knife. Her eyes widened as he gripped the handle holding it above her with both hands, beginning to grin at her again. "Wh-what are you doing? H-Hidan…stop!" The knife began to fall and she screeched, shaking her head and closing her eyes against what she thought was a certain death.

He began laughing again. She jerked her eyes open, feeling the cool touch of the metal against her skin, but not the pierce of the blade. He lifted the shirt she had on, sliding the knife beneath it and beginning to slit it open. "Stop that! What the fuck do you think you're doing?!" She began to squirm again, pain biting into her ankles too; making her wince again as she suddenly realized he had barbed her ankles down too.

"You wreak of evil…it oozes off of you in such potency you can see it." He seemed to be in his own world, now slitting open her sleeves, revealing her suddenly bare body. All she had left were her panties.

"I'm not evil, I'm nothing like any of you. ESPECIALLY you, Hidan." She growled at him, spitting in his face suddenly. He paused, one eye closed as her spittle dripped off of it and onto his cheek. She smirked, "Now, get off." She renewed her efforts to kick him off, but he simply wiped his eye and glanced down at her.

Putting the knife down he grabbed one of the clay smelling bowls off the night stand. She watched his movements carefully, trying to peer inside of the bowl to make sure he wasn't going to pour acid onto her. When he dipped his fingers in and pulled them out again they had a thick white substance on them. He began to smear it onto her chest, smiling softly like an artist would as he painted.

"It's beautiful really…the way you don't know how black you're soul is. Rather like Itachi…You hold to the facade of innocence in such an effort to keep it alive that you don't even know you're rotting from the inside out." His head tilted; once again he was in his own little world. She squirmed beneath his touches as his fingers ran over one of her breasts, sending shivers down her spine.

"I'm not like him either! I'm like none of you-stop touching me, dammit!" She couldn't tell what was driving her crazier, him touching her like he had known her all of his life and they were deeply in love, or his babbling.

He leaned closer, trailing a finger in a circle over her nipple while smiling at her, "He'll love you…I'm going to sacrifice this beautiful body of yours and allow him to devour that richly blackened soul of yours for all eternity." He cooed, as though he were telling her she was the most beautiful woman in the world. Hotaru started to panic. She needed to get out of the bonds. She needed to get out of this room. Her eyes darted all over the room again, she began to shake her wrists and ankles, trying to see if any of them were loose enough for her to pull free. To no avail. All she managed to do was hurt herself even worse. His breath was too close…She looked down to see his eyes closing as he slid his tongue over her nipple, causing her to warm inside.

"Stop it! Get off me!" She jerked again, but cried out in pain instead of getting anywhere. He looked up at her, laughing quietly as his hands slid around her hips, beginning to massage them contently. He bit down, making her back arch and mouth open in silent joy and pain.

Easing away he smirked once more, "You enjoy it as much as I do, just admit it. You'd be a perfect Jashtain priestess…What do you say?" He tapped her collar bone, listening to it resonate within her.

She was starting to get dizzy. She couldn't tell if it was from the clay he was smearing on her or from blood loss, but the room was slowly starting to spin. "Come on…you'd get to fuck all day and sacrifice anyone who ever upset you. You could even sacrifice that Sasuke boy that hurt you so bad…Fuck 'em and kill 'em in the process. Sounds great, right?" He bit at her lower lip playfully again, nipping hard enough to draw blood and make her moan.

"No..." She shook her head, rolling it from side to side a bit languidly. She tugged harder against the barbed wire on her wrists, digging it in deeper; only hurting herself worse. He seemed to know this and glanced at his handy work once again, laughing in a mocking tone.

"You'd rather die like this? Maybe you're more of a fucking fool than I thought." Looking down at her he shook his head, dipping his finger in the white clay one more time, smearing some more on her torso, pressing hard enough to make her whine quietly.

This was it. She had to get him off of her. She had to get out of here. Otherwise she was going to pass out from blood loss and he'd do Gods know what to her, then kill her. Suddenly a strange thought struck her. One she was almost sure was too crazy to work. Hidan grabbed the knife again, knowing her eyes were following his every movement, even if they looked a bit drugged. The sight of the knife drove the thought home. She had to do this, even if it killed her in the process. Least she would've killed herself instead of letting him win.

She closed her eyes momentarily, trying to get her courage up and her thoughts together…but the black cloud of unconsciousness began creeping in without her realizing. Sasuke's face appeared in her mind's eye. He glared at her, frowning with disdain as he looked at her in this pathetic situation. "MOVE!" He barked the order at her and it was all he had to do; just like in the old days.

Her eyes shot open, her left the blood red of the sharingon. She screeched, clenching her fists tightly and jerking downwards as hard as she could. The pain was unbearable, she almost gave up and fell backwards, but the sudden rush of adrenalin wouldn't let her. She tugged again, feeling the sharp thorns of metal dragging and digging into her skin. Deeper and deeper, tearing and pulling as she tore viciously. Finally, she gave one last burst of a tug, Hidan so shocked by the sudden change that he just sat and watched with wide eyes. The flesh of her wrists tore open, the blood slicking the metal enough to let her skinned wrists slide through. She looked at her hands as they quivered in front of her slightly drugged and disillusioned eyes, flaps of skin glaring at her on the insides of her wrists.

She jerked her head up, looking at Hidan and blaming him for all of it. For Sasuke leaving her, for Naruto not having time for her anymore, for Kakashi barely being around anymore, for her parents being killed, for Nikoru getting kidnapped, for her rescue mission failing, for just being here; for everything. She snarled and let out a scream, another shot of adrenalin pushing through her as she palm heeled him to the nose, listening to the cartilage and bone shatter. He cried out, grabbing his face and doubling over, dropping the knife to the bed. She snagged it, and slit at his throat, cutting the jugular.

His blood sprayed onto her face and he collapsed off the side of the bed, growling and snarling like a wounded animal, grabbing at his throat hastily. The wound couldn't kill him, if anything it would only delay him; but he could feel the pain of it she knew. She looked at her bound feet, leaning forward and using the knife to cut at the bonds. Her hands were weak and they shook badly, but she pushed herself forward. When free she jumped off the other side of the bed, running blindly to the door. Had to make it out, had to get to Nikoru, someone, anyone other than Hidan.

She opened the door, her legs shaking as her knees threatened to give out on her. She ran down the hallway, slamming into the wall at some point, pushing herself up and forward, dragging a bloodied hand over the wall. Something was behind her, something was chasing her; it was Him. She screeched, positive she could feel his breath on the back of her neck. Her akiles tendons had been cut into by the barbed wire and this adrenalin wasn't going to keep her up forever; neither was the sheer will power keeping her awake. Blood oozed down her arms, slinging every where she moved from the giant slits in her wrists. She had literally skinned the insides of her wrists, lucky the flesh was even still attached; it was hanging off the heels of her palms in odd flaps. Someone was in front of her, only a few feet away. They were in the doorway of the kitchen, standing in a pool of light.

Her vision was blurred now, body slumping as her hand white knuckled the wall, desperate to keep herself on steady feet. She was about to start crawling when a hand grabbed hold of her left wrist, causing her to scream in pain. She fell to her knees, looking over her shoulder with blind and horrified eyes, seeing Hidan glaring down at her with that insane skeletal grin stained on his face. His body was inked black with the stark white skeleton markings all over it too. She couldn't really see him, all she could see were the white markings on him, but she knew it was him.

His free hand pressed down tightly on his throat, trying to trap the blood back inside. The hand holding her wrist tightened, her blood oozing from between his fingers, the flap of flesh resting over the curled fingers; he was holding her by the muscles of her arm. He snarled at her, "I'm going to tear you limb from limb and enjoy every moment of it." She screamed again, dropping her head to the floor as he held her arm in the air. She put her forehead to the carpet, panting and closing her eyes, sobbing as tears soaked the carpet. She had to get out of this; she had to get away from him. She had to stay alive.

"Hidan! Leave the girl alone!" That voice…that dead and angered voice…He had come to save her. She looked up, seeing him standing there in the pool of light, glaring with those tightly creased lips and bandaged arms and legs. It was Him.

"Sasuke!" She screamed, reaching for him with her free hand, flinging blood at him without meaning to. She tried to rush towards him, but looked back, realizing Hidan still held tight to her bleeding wrist. She glared, unable to see anything now but a mass of black and white, blurred together incomprehensibly. "Let GO of me!" She kicked his feet from under him, sending him crashing to the floor face first. She jerked her wrist away from him just like she had the barbed wire, scrambling up and running to Sasuke.

She tripped half way there, falling and grabbing hold of his shirt front as she did. She looked up at him, clutching to his shirt for dear life. "Sasuke, please! I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! I'm not evil! I'm not!" She shook her head wildly, dizzying herself even more. She was panting now, eyes fluttering, fighting to stay open, her sharingon long gone. "I'm not evil…n-not…Sa-Sasuke…" Her words died to a soft moan, her head lolling to rest against the warmth and strength of his body, eyes slowly beginning to flutter closed.

Itachi leaned down, grabbing hold of Hotaru and pulling her up to face him. Her head rolled backwards as he held her by her lower back, pressing her marked body against his own. She was cold, very cold. Covered in blood and those same stupid markings as Hidan, only hers were painted on with something that was smearing all over him now. Kisame had emerged from one of the rooms in the hallway, holding Hidan back, pressing him against the wall and snarling at him with all of his teeth bared as Hidan screamed about punishment from Jashin and so on.

"Hotaru…Hotaru! Listen to me! Listen!" Itachi shook her, causing her to moan and her eyes to flutter. It was a promising sign. He couldn't have her die, he couldn't.

After seeing her fight like that, seeing these wounds and seeing her strain to stay alive with all she had, he knew she was a true Uchiha; just like she had claimed. "Open your eyes dammit!" He slapped her and she gasped, opening her eyes slightly with a soft breath of air, her chest rising and falling limply. He held her head up and made her look at him, "Hotaru! Listen to me! You need to keep your eyes open! Do not go to sleep, do you understand me?!" He continued to bark at her, staring deep into her faded green eyes.

"I-I…" She seemed confused, then smiled softly and touched his arm with quivering fingertips.

Itachi looked up and around, hearing Nikoru wailing and screaming as Deidara held her back in a tight grip. He couldn't tell if she wanted to run for Hidan in revenge or run for Hotaru and try to keep her alive. Everyone seemed to have woken up and emerged into the vicinity, all except who he really needed. "Where's Kakuzu?! Get him out here!" No one moved for a moment. He stomped a foot, face warping into a grotesquely livid thing, "Do it!" He barked, then looked back at Hotaru.

Sasori ran off, nodding and promising to find Kakuzu and Leader. Hotaru murred quietly, "Oh, Sasuke…I missed you so much." As the words spilt from her mouth her head became heavy in Itachi's hand again, her eyes started to close once more. He shook her and she opened her eyes once again, this time even less than before.

"I'm not Sasuke! Hotaru, listen to my voice! It's me, Itachi! You can't go to sleep!" He cried out, becoming desperate. This was his one chance, his one chance to restart the clan. To create a perfect Uchiha; he couldn't let this chance die in his hands.

She frowned, "I'm not li-like him…" The words trembled in the quiet moan they formed. She shook her head, trying to push off, but unable to move her hands any longer. They were hanging at her sides, blood pooling on the floor and soaking the carpet; only every now and then would they shiver with her effort to move them.

Hidan laughed loudly, "She still thinks she's talking to me! The fool still thinks she's arguing with me!" He leered and Kisame slammed his body against the wall again, causing him to cough. He was bleeding out too, Kisame refusing to let him hold the wound Hotaru had given him on his neck.

"What did you say to her?!" Itachi glared at him, pressing Hotaru's head into his chest without realizing it. Hidan laughed again, "I told her she was just like you. Holding onto the facade of innocence, pretending you're a good person deep down, that you do what you do only to fool others and keep your appearance up. Striving to tell yourself that you'll be good again one day, that you still are good, what you're doing now doesn't count because you're innocent and pure on the inside still. But, you're not. You're rotting from the inside out and you don't even know it yet! You're as evil and as black as the rest of us, as rotten in the soul as I am!" Here he let out a burst of loud laughter, grinning insanely again.

Itachi frowned this time, hugging Hotaru and shaking her slightly to wake her up again, looking down at her with softened eyes that none of the others could see. Was she really like that? Was she really like him? Was she in such pain like the rest of the Uchihas? Kisame slapped Hidan into shutting up again, just as Sasori walked in quickly with Kakuzu and Pein following close behind.

Itachi held Hotaru out for Kakuzu to sum up and look over, then watched him groan and nod, motioning for him to follow him to the couch. They laid her on it and Kakuzu began to stitch her wrists together with his threads. Nikoru walked over, dropping to her knees beside them and touching Hotaru's hair lightly, whimpering as she watched Kakuzu tug at the thread to tighten it, then cut it off from his own body and move down to Hotaru's ankles. He began to stich those together too, grumbling about being paid for using his thread on someone else and so on. Instead Nikoru hugged him tightly when he was finished, thanking him over and over again as Pein over looked Hotaru's bloodied body. He glanced at Itachi, who glanced up at him, then back at her.

"She's lost a lot of blood…" Pein murmured, Itachi nodding in solemn agreement, reaching out and holding up one of her wrists, examining Kakuzu's handy work. "She'll need some kind of transfusion. I can give her more life chakra, but YOU are the only one who can give her the blood she needs." Pein gestured over Hotaru's body and Itachi thought about it. Tobi stepped up, holding up a gloved finger and getting ready to say something about him being able to do it if Itachi didn't want to, but he silenced himself. He had a facade to keep up too, just like Itachi did. Better for Itachi to give in than him; his position was too important.

Itachi thought about it for a moment, for as long as he was given until Pein cleared his throat to signal they were running out of time. Finally he shrugged and nodded, "We can't have her die…she's too valuable of an asset in catching Naruto and Sasuke." He lied and everyone nodded their agreement.

Pein nodded and scooped Hotaru up, "We need to move to a bedroom then, follow me." He muttered and started off down the hallway, Itachi following after. Nikoru went to follow too, but Tobi stopped her, shaking his head and handing her over to Deidara.

As Itachi lay in the bed next to Hotaru, he glanced over at her from time to time, appearing to be making sure the transfusion wire was still in and it was all going smoothly. But really he was glancing over her form, her curves and how soft and supple her breasts were. He was looking at her throat and the slow pulse beating there. Her parted lips, chapped pieces of flesh hanging off of them, moving with each slow and measured breath she took. The way her eyelashes fluttered on her cheek bones, how her hair spilt behind her like a blanket, belling to frame her face even in this state.

He was looking to watch her heartbeat above her breasts. To watch the pulse of her veins in her wrists as blood began to flow through them again. He was studying her to see why he suddenly had an odd feeling in the pit of his stomach, and to figure out why he suddenly wanted to know what her infatuation with his little brother was.

He turned and looked up at the ceiling, listening to Pein mutter prayers in six different voices, each plain of existence working and compromising with their gods to give her more life chakra. It was actually kind of calming after all the commotion he had just been through. After all the commotion of the past few days. He closed his eyes, wondering how his little brother was doing, what his parents thought of him as they looked down on him from the afterlife; wondering about a lot of things. His hand unconsciously slid closer to Hotaru's own in the middle of the bed, his fingertips just brushing against hers, giving him a sense of the warmth that was slowly returning to her; allowing him to fall asleep beside her.

Once they had left the room and the house had become quiet again, Kisame let up on Hidan. He stood in front of the hallway though, refusing to let him through to the living room or to the other hallway that held Itachi's and his bedroom where Hotaru was now residing. Hidan growled, gripping down on his neck once more, clenching his free hand into a fist and thinking of striking the fish man. Nikoru's sobs were grating on his nerves and as he looked around to see if anyone would help him in the fight to get to Hotaru, he noted he was standing alone.

Kakuzu walked over, touching Kisame lightly on the shoulder before stepping past him and going up to Hidan. "You're a fool. You were given the command not to lay a finger on her." Kakuzu grumbled, his unblinking eyes staring at Hidan like a demon's. Hidan snorted, noting his hand was sticky, frowning and looking down at it. At that point he grinned, forgetting about everyone as he began to slide into his own world once more.

Holding his hand in front of his face slowly he turned and started towards his bedroom, at the end of the hall, once again. Kakuzu following him and muttering about the carpet and how he was going to pay to clean it. Hidan watched blood drip down his fingers, running over his palm and down his wrist. Only, it wasn't his blood. Her blood smeared over the entirity of his hand, dripping in beautiful, languid drops, calling out to him. Glancing over at Kakuzu, wondering if he realized what was going through his mind, he noted he wasn't even being watched anymore. With that he took to licking his fingers.

One by one they slid between his lips, his tongue coiling around them warmly, collecting every last drop of her delicious blood. He had been right. It tasted as evil as she looked, and every bit as good. Holding his arm up now, they entered into the bedroom, just as he was beginning to lick his forearm and palm. It was decided. She would have tonight and tomorrow to recover; he would reveal his delicious secret when the time was right. And soon, no matter what anyone said or did, he and Jashin would have their sacrifice. And he would make sure she screamed for it too.


	4. Breakfast with Hotaruchan

"Breakfast with Hotaru-chan"

Hotaru rolled over in the bed, her eyes fluttering open slowly before easing around the room she was in. No one was there with her. She was alone in a strange room, tidy and clean, but with a mussed bed across from the one she lay in. She rolled onto her back, putting her hand over her eyes and wondering if Naruto or the others had discovered she was missing yet. Kakashi would know before anyone, then Naruto, then Lola, then everyone else. Kakashi was smart, he knew her schedules, he knew how long it generally took her to do even complicated missions; he would know soon. Then they would all come looking for her and attempt to rescue her and Nikoru. No, scratch that, they wouldn't attempt, they would.

She sat up, feeling something rough brush her bare thigh as she dropped her hand against it. Frowning she turned her hand over, looking at her stitched wrist and closing her eyes again. Now she remembered. And she had a vague idea of whose bed she was in too. Opening her eyes and looking around once more she spotted a black tank top lying on the floor. She slid out of bed, reaching out and sniffing the shirt as she grabbed it. It smelt fine…a little like sushi…but, fine enough. Not seeing her own clothes she slid the tank top on, its hem falling right above her knees. The sleeve holes were fairly large, and exposed most of her breasts, but she didn't really see anything else she could put on. She fluffed a hand through her hair, groaning as she walked out of the room on unsteady feet, figuring if she had to be here she would make the best of it, like Nikoru had apparently done.

Turning a corner and finding herself in a kitchen, she spotted Nikoru sitting at the big table, cradling her chin in her hand and dozing off against it. Kisame was standing over the stove, wearing a pink and frilly half apron and some blue fish looking ovenmits. Itachi was sitting at the table too, quietly sipping at something out of a small handleless cup, his eyes studying the table. She glanced to her right and saw the living room with Deidara stretched out on the couch, a hand behind his head as he leaned against the arm of the sofa. Sasori was sitting at the other end of the couch, looking down at a scroll in his hands, reading over it. The masked boy called Tobi was sitting on the floor in front of the coffee table, near Deidara's head, prattling on about something to the uncaring blonde. Kakuzu was walking into the kitchen, muttering about something to himself as he sat heavily in a chair. No one seemed to notice her yet; no one at all.

She turned back to Kisame, able to smell the food he was making on the stove, identifying it as scrambled eggs. He wasn't making them right. As she walked over to him she could still smell the water in the yolks…they were going to be gross and rubbery if he wasn't careful. She stopped by his side, looking down at the big wok he had on the stove's eye, waiting to be noticed. Absently he reached for the salt, but she pulled it away from him, staring at the wok along with him. His thick brow furrowed, fingers grasping for the salt shaker blindly, her own hand keeping it calmly out of the way. Finally he looked over, jumping in his skin when he saw her. "Oh…little Kunoichi…I didn't notice you there." He laughed softly and she slowly looked up at him.

He pulled back slightly, smiling nervously at her as he held a hand out to keep her at bay. He didn't understand how Itachi could think she wasn't part of his bloodline; she had those same dead pool eyes that he did. "No one did. You don't need to add the salt yet." She pushed the shaker back a little farther and he blinked, coming back into reality.

"I do, little kunoichi, they're almost done and everyone likes a little tang to their food here." He offered gently, trying to be as kind as he could.

She shook her head, "They're not almost done. Plus you made them too early, now they'll be cold by the time you get the rest of the food done or everyone will be filled on eggs by the time you get the rest done." She looked back to his wok and he shook it a little, to keep the eggs from burning. He felt his eye twitch as she tried to coach him on his cooking, but he grinned a toothy grin at her.

"I know what I'm doing, little kunoichi, I've been cooking food for everyone for a long time." He offered, but she shook her head again.

"Doesn't mean they've liked it for a long time. Now move, I'm taking over." She went to shove him, but he didn't budge. The giant man glowered down at the five foot girl, sharp teeth bared at her as they fought for dominance over the stove. Hotaru glared right back up at him.

"You're making the food wrong. I'm staying here now, so I'm cooking. Move." She growled, grabbing the wok from him.

He snatched it back, "My food has sustained this household for gods know how many years and it's staying that way! I'm not going to let a little brat take over my stove!" He snapped at her, slamming his free hand on the counter loudly. She kept her ground, the others now beginning to look over.

"Well your food sucks! I can already smell it! So MOVE!" She shoved Kisame one more time, causing him to grunt and a single foot to slide backwards. That was impressive enough. But, he refused to release the handle of the wok over to her, instead leaning over and shutting off the eye.

"I suggest YOU move, little kunoichi, or no one's eating for the morning." He huffed at her, but she gave him a cold glare he was use to from another person.

"When you MAKE me move, I will." She snarled, glaring up at him, almost having to tilt her head all the way back to do it. Kisame closed his eyes, pinching the skin between his brows in effort not to tear all of the chakra out of the girl's body and leave her to lie on the floor for the next few days. Instead he side stepped and took a deep, calming breath.

"Fine. If you're so good at cooking, YOU do it. We'll see whose they like better." He muttered and she gave a forced grin.

"Good job, fish dude." With that she waited for him to turn. When he did she jerked the knot to his apron, pulling it lose and snatching the cloth from around his waist. As he turned around in shock she was already finishing knotting it behind her own waist and turning back to the stove. He stared hard as she picked up the wok, walking it over to the trashcan and dumping all the eggs into it, then walking back to the stove.

"You can't do that! What a waste! That's tons of my money going into the garbage there!" Kakuzu barked, still pointing and staring at the trashcan.

"Ah you're fine. Now all of you sit down, shut up, and leave me alone to cook or I'll make sure you STARVE." She cut her eyes over her shoulder at all of them, basically hissing before turning and walking calmly to the refrigerator. Itachi watched her pull out butter and the whole other half of the carton of eggs. She pulled out fresh bacon and other things then put them on the counter by the stove. As she walked by she glanced out the window over the sink, eying the garden in the backyard, then turning and looking to him. "You, what's out in the garden?" She pointed to him and he arched a fine brow, smirking.

"Fresh vegetables." He offered up calmly and she nodded slowly, biting at her lower lip in a cute way that made him feel funny on the inside.

"Do you have herbs too?" Her voice was softening and becoming more feminine, gentler. He nodded calmly, sipping at his drink again.

"Why don't you go out there and gather some?" He suggested and she smiled.

"Good idea, Nikoru, wake your ass up!" She barked loudly at the still sleeping girl. Nikoru's head simply fell out of her hand and onto the table where she proceeded to drool.

"Get-OFF-the-table." Kakuzu reached out and hit the top of her head with a hand curled into a fist, snarling at her. She snapped awake.

"Hmm? Huh?" Her half lidded eyes gazed around the room slowly, before she spotting Hotaru and glimmering with a smile. "Oh, Hotaru-chan, I'm glad you're awake and functioning. What's up?" She rubbed a fist in her eye as Hotaru walked over, grabbing her by the upper arm.

"We need basics from the garden, come on." She started to drag the still sleepy girl over to the backdoor, reaching out to slide it open.

"Mmmm-hmmm…garden's in the backyard…No backyardie for Nikkie…bad backyard…" She murred sleepily, smiling as Hotaru drug her onto the porch, shaking her head and muttering something about 'dobe' to the girl. A breath of fresh morning air hit Nikoru and suddenly she snapped awake, feeling herself being drug off of the walkway and into the yard. She looked around frantically, then looked to Hotaru, digging her heels into the dirt and stopping progress. "No! No backyard! We can't be out here, Hotaru-chan! No backyard, no backyard, NO BACKYARD!" She screeched, beginning to squirm in Hotaru's tight grasp.

Hotaru turned around and looked at her like she was bleeding from the ears. "What the hell is your problem, girl?" She wondered, releasing Nikoru and letting her fall to the ground; it was too early for her to care. Nikoru shook her head, getting up and trying to drag Hotaru back into the house.

"I don't know, but we can't be out here! Dei-chan says that some things out here! A Zetsu! And it EATS people and lives out here and can be anywhere!" She leaned in close, "Anywhere…!" She hissed loudly, looking around with big eyes. Hotaru shook her head, closing her eyes and sighing heavily.

"Nikoru, there's nothing to be scared of. Zetsu sounds like a name; it's probably a dog or something. I think Deidara was just trying to scare you." She patted her friend's shoulder gently, happening to glance over it to see everyone looking out of windows and peering out of the now opened sliding door at them. She frowned then looked back to Nikoru, who was shaking her head wildly.

"No! He said he would feed me to Zetsu in the backyard if I didn't get quiet! We're gonna get eaten!" She cried out, shaking Hotaru determinedly. But, Hotaru had finally had had enough of this. She slapped a hand over her friend's mouth, hardening her eyes like a mother with a crying child.

"Nikoru! Get ahold of yourself! Seriously? There is NO MAN EATING CREATURE!" She snapped, feeling Nikoru panting heavily against her tightly pressed hand. "Now, I've got breakfast to make. I'm hungry, dammit. I can't remember the last time I ate. So, you're gonna help me get what I need from that garden over there and then we're going to go inside and punch out Deidara for making you into an idiot, do you understand?" She growled in the blonde's face, making her nod quickly. "I'm going to let go of your mouth and you're going to stop making so much noise that I want to punch YOU, got it?" Nikoru nodded quickly again and Hotaru released her. She was silent like she was supposed to be. Hotaru smiled at her now.

"Kay, let's go get this done with so I can feed you." She turned around and began to lead Nikoru over to the garden. Though quiet, Nikoru still was looking around in a slightly panicked state, nervous about the still looming threat of the Zetsu, whoever or whatever it was. They got to the garden and Hotaru skimmed over the slim pickings. "Wow, we're going to have to spruce the garden up too…this place sucks so hard!" She shook her head, bending over and beginning to collect chives and green onions.

"Nikoru, get a green bell pepper for me, would you?" She didn't look up from examining the tomatoes, but pointed in the general direction of the bell peppers she had briefly skimmed.

"Kay…Do you want a red one too? I grabbed some of the garlic and potatoes already..." She murmured and Hotaru nodded her head slowly, still picking through the tomatoes for the best ones. "Get a few of each, hun." She muttered, reaching for a tomato, but deciding it wasn't ripe enough.

"Ugh…I can't find another one that I like and I need one more…" Someone held one out to her over her shoulder and she smiled, "That's perfect, Nikoru, thanks!" She put it in her apron with the rest of the things she had picked, getting up and holding the cloth by its edges.

"What's perfect?" Nikoru looked up at her from the ground, holding an armful of potatoes and green peppers, trying to stuff garlic cloves into it. Hotaru looked over, raising a brow in mild confusion.

"The tomato you just handed to me…" She muttered, but Nikoru shook her head, looking over at her completely now.

"I didn't hand you anyth-" The girl stopped, her eyes widening with horror. "Hotaru! The THING!" She screeched, dropping her vegetables to the ground and scrambling up, and backwards in another panic. Hotaru frowned and spun around, still gripping onto her apron as she came face to face with a black chest. Slowly she looked up, seeing green sprouting from the collar of the black and red cloak. It branched out on either side, forming a Venus fly trap. In the middle sat a man, his head tilted, half painted black and half painted white; tousled green hair spilling strands across his forehead. His eyes glowed bright yellow at her, one vividly watching her, the other only studying her with a dull interest. A slow grin pulled over either side of his face, revealing fanged pearls in pink gums.

"We gave you the tomato…We saw how picky you were." He hissed at her in a low, venomous voice, causing her to quiver with a small step back.

"Lemme guess, you're Zetsu." She tried to keep her calm, so far not seeing any reason to freak out; but she kept her guard up as she listened to Nikoru whimper in the background.

"Hotaru-chan, move! He's gonna eat you! Just like Dei-chan said!" Nikoru whined, reaching for her friend and trying to pull her out of the way.

"Would you stop CALLING me that? I'm not a GIRL, dammit! I'm a BOY, un!" They heard Deidara's angry voice call out from the doorway to the house, all of them turning to look at him pitching his little fit.

"Oh shutup! I'll deal with you your crossing dress ass when I get back inside!" Hotaru barked, watching him stomp a foot in rage.

"You stupid, bitch! See if you EVER get inside again, un! I'm locking your asses out with Zetsu-san!" He snapped, slamming the door shut. Nikoru screeched as if she had been struck.

"No! Don't leave us out here! We don't want to get eaten!" She cried out, running for the door. Hotaru shook her head as she watched the girl, turning around to find Zetsu bent over and sniffing at her apron.

"Excuse me, personal space, please." She stepped back and he rose to stand straight again, grinning at her still.

"Your skin smells like spices…I wonder if your fingers taste of the earth you just dug through to retrieve them…" The white side smiled gently at her, its eye remaining vibrant yellow.

"Or of the spicy flesh of the vegetables you're now holding." The black side finished with a long hiss. She was reminded of Orochimaru when he spoke and it made her want to strike him. She gripped the apron's edges instead.

"I suppose it's a pity you'll never find out." She smiled teasingly, tilting her head to the side before turning to walk back inside. The black hand suddenly lashed out, grabbing her by the arm and jerking her towards him again. She glared; it was now officially okay for her to hit him. Releasing the apron with both hands she spun as he guided her, going to strike him in the face with her free hand. He caught it with his white hand though, grinning as he now crossed her arms in front of her and held her still. He turned her wrists over, making her wince and double forward with the movement.

"We heard screams in the house…We heard what happened…" The white side mentioned, staring at her stitches. She opened her eyes only to narrow them in another glare.

"Good for you. Wanna fuckin cookie for it?" She snapped making him look back to her.

"She has spirit…very black on the inside…very negative…We should devour her…She would taste delicious…" The black side coaxed to its gentler half, but the white side tilted the head his way, studying her angry face.

"You're NOT eating me! I'm not a fucking idiot, I won't let you!" She snarled, connecting her foot with his stomach. She hit something hard, the vibrations from her kick resonating through him, causing the fly trap around him to shiver. She looked in surprise as he laughed under his breath at her attempt to jostle him.

"We are safe and protected. You can do nothing to us." The white side murmured gently to her, but she rolled her eyes to the heavens and huffed anyways.

"I'll figure something out, I promise." She needed her hands to use her fire jutsus and to use her scrolls…well, she needed the scrolls too in that case. Actually, she was screwed unless Nikoru decided to get her ass over here and help. She turned and looked over her shoulder, seeing Nikoru glancing at her off and on as she continued to bang on the sliding door, threatening to break the paper that created it. "Nikoru! Get yer sorry ass over here and help me!" She shouted, but Nikoru shook her head.

"Every man for himself!" She cried out and Hotaru closed her eyes. Gods, she had the best of friends. She felt something moist run over her skin and looked down, seeing Zetsu licking her stitches on her left arm.

"Hey! You! Stop that!" She kicked him again, though she knew it would do nothing. He looked back up at her, running the tip of his tongue over his lips with a smirk.

"You DO taste good…We thought you would…" The white side smiled calmly, as though this was a compliment.

"I said you can't taste shit! Now le'go!" She jerked against him, but to no avail. He pulled her in, slamming her chest against his own, holding her arms out to either side of him. She looked up at him with big eyes, her lips parted in shock as his face rested near to her own.

"You haven't brushed your teeth yet…" He smirked and she let her eyes harden again.

"No, I haven't. You wouldn't know that if you would get out of my damned PERSONAL SPACE!" She shouted in his face, making him close his eyes, but fail to move. After a moment the eyes opened and studied her face again.

"We want to TASTE you…" The black side hissed again, but she frowned sarcastically.

"You've already DONE that, my wrist is still covered in the drool to prove it." She huffed, "Now, you've had your taste, I don't taste good, obviously. So let go. I'm hungry and so is everyone else." She motioned to the house over her shoulder.

"Not good enough." Suddenly his lips pressed hard against her own.

Hotaru stood in shock, unsure of what to do. She was kissing a cute guy, but he was half plant, half insane, and 100% cannibal. His tongue slid over the roof of her mouth, easing along her teeth and twirling around her own.

"Alright, Zetsu, that's enough. Let the girl go." The voice made her snap back to reality and get rid of the undulating waves of heat beginning to run through her. She opened her eyes to see Zetsu smirking around her lips, looking over her shoulder and locking eyes with Itachi as he stood on the edge of the walkway. Hotaru bit down on the tongue that was writhing against her own, biting hard to send blood spilling into their locked mouths. He winced and jerked back, crying out and spitting the blood on the ground. Some of it trickled out of the corner of her own mouth, but she failed to gather it up, having not liked HIS taste too much. He glowered at her eyes matching in their livid rage.

"You bit us!" He snarled, both sides working in unison this time. She shrugged casually in his grasp.

"You kissed us." Her tone mocked him as he narrowed his eyes, refusing to let go of her wrists, calculating her words.

"Zetsu…I said let her go." Itachi's voice rang out over the yard once more, still that deadly calm. Hotaru didn't break the staring contest she was suddenly having with the boy.

"We don't like to be mocked…" The black side informed her and she tilted her head, smiling cutely.

"We don't like to be kissed against our will." She offered sweetly, watching him dissect this answer too. After a long moment he slowly let her go.

"We want to try…getting along…" The white side suggested and she smiled, wiping his blood off her mouth with the back of her hand.

"I would like that actually. You seem like a nice person, just a little mixed up on the inside." She giggled quietly, kneeling down to gather her vegetables again, like she had simply bumped into him and spilt her groceries; her demeanor softened again, becoming girlish and gentle once more.

He knelt down too, beginning to place the vegetables in her apron also, still watching her face. "You…don't hate us…for trying to eat you…?" He seemed to be having trouble getting his mind around this fact. Hotaru shook her head, putting a final potato in her apron, knowing everyone was watching in some kind of registered surprise. She looked back to him with another calm smile.

"I've had much worse happen to me, I promise. I don't hate you. I didn't enjoy it, by any means, and would prefer you didn't do it agan. But, I understand you were merely acting on what you were told to act on." At this she glanced at the black side's eye, as though she were talking to him specifically. Both eyes blinked before he placed the last tomato in her apron and they both rose from the ground, Hotaru still smiling. "Promise not to try and EAT me again and I'll come back out here later on; we can get to know each other better that way." She offered and slowly he nodded, still looking a little confused.

"We would…like that…" He murmured and she nodded too, beaming now.

"Alright then, it's a date." She turned and started back towards the house her eyes hardening as she zeroed in on everyone else in the house. Zetsu watched her stomp up onto the walkway, storming past Itachi and glaring into the house, beginning to shout as soon as she went inside. "Fucking feed me to the man eating plant outside, eh? Fucking leave me behind to die, eh? If I weren't the cool ass bitch I am I would be dead! DEAD! I should make you all fucking STARVE! Nikoru! Get your ass back here and take your beating like a bitch-like everyone else!" The shouts echoed out in the yard and Zetsu smiled to himself.

"We tasted Uchiha…She's like Itachi…" The white side murmured casually.

"Yes…such a lovely taste, Uchiha." The black side reminisced and they giggled together. "We now have TWO Uchihas to devour slowly…We should stash them for better eating later…" He smiled turning and going back into the garden where he belonged.

Hotaru chopped and diced and shredded things for a good little while, her knife making loud snapping noises on the cutting board. Everyone sat quietly at the table, muttering to themselves and each other, afraid to move. Sasori leaned his head down close to the table, looking between everyone and whimpering quietly. "I have to pee…" He whined softly, but everyone shook their heads.

"Don't do it, man…I've lived with her, I KNOW what she'll do to you." Nikoru waved her hands frantically, hissing at him and shaking her head wildly.

"But, I have to go so bad!" He whined like the child he appeared to be, Deidara reaching out to pat the top of his hand comfortingly.

"I say go for it, Danna…you can take whatever she throws at you…and its better than pissing your pants." He smiled softly and Sasori nodded in agreement.

"Don't do it, man! She'll eat you up and spit you back out, like Dei-chan's hands!" Nikoru begged, making Deidara glare over at her.

"I'd listen to her. This little kunoichi is from Itachi's bloodline and we all know how HE gets." Kisame suggested, remembering the look in Hotaru's eyes this morning as she hovered by him without him even knowing. Sasori got up quietly, face determind.

"I'll take my chances. The bitch can't do anything to me." He suddenly seemed a bit more confident as he tip-toed into the living room. His foot tapped the carpet when a knife flew at him, landing in the frame of the doorway, just barely missing his ear. He froze and slowly turned with, seeing Hotaru standing at the other end of the kitchen, glowering at him. He glanced between her and the rest of the group, wondering who he feared more. The ridicule for being weak, or the possibility of death. Hotaru reached out and pointed to his empty seat at the table silently. He glanced at it, then at Deidara, then at Hotaru. "I have to pee…and it's not fair for you to keep us cooped up in here while waiting on you to finish cooking. Kisame doesn't do that to us." He muttered, looking to the floor as if he wasn't very confident in his words. Nikoru slapped her hand over her face and Kisame dropped his head into his big hands.

Hotaru put a hand on her hip, reaching behind her for another one of the knives on the counter, never taking her eyes off of him. "Well, I'M not Kisame. So, sit the FUCK down, or I'll MAKE you sit down, chakra boy." She snarled, but he huffed, not liking the fact that she thought she was better than him.

"You can't MAKE me do anything. Besides, who died and made YOU Leader?" He growled, watching a malicious smirk pull across her face.

"No one did. But, considering Y'ALL tried to feed me to a fucking man eating…THING-out there! And considering I'M the one making your food, and considering I'M the one holding the knife, you had better SIT THE FUCK DOWN!" She slammed the knife into the counter, driving it hilt deep into the wood, causing them to look over in some surprise.

Itachi calmly snorted, "If you can get it back OUT, I'll personally make him sit down." He told the table boredly, Hotaru arching a brow at him. Her smile fell as she glanced over at the knife again.

"Damn…I don't think I can." She grumbled, turning and reaching for the knife with one hand. Deidara and Sasori both gave cruel smirks as she wrapped her fingers around the knife and tugged lightly, failing to make it move at all. It was always easier to MAKE the mess rather than clean it. She turned and look at them over her shoulder. "It's in there pretty good…Guess I was really angry, huh?" She giggled nervously, Tobi nodding quickly in ignorant agreement. "Imagine if that had been one of your faces!" She giggled lightly again and Kisame closed his eyes, imagining the knife sinking into one of them as he did.

"Well…I guess you may get to go to the bathroom after all, Sasori." This pushed it a little too far. Itachi looked over and lifed his own brow, watching her facial features and watching how hard she was actually tugging at the knife. She was barely pulling at all. No one else seemed to notice, too wrapped up in what they thought was a victory over the raging bitch. She huffed before wrapping her hand around the knife a final time. "Lemme give it one last try…" She whimpered and they all nodded in agreement, motioning for her to continue.

Her fingers drummed the handle steadily before she gave a swift tug, pulling it out easily. She turned to face them with an evily smug smirk. "Oh my, look at that…" Sasori sighed heavily and sat at the table again, shaking his head slowly before dropping his cheek into his hand. She watched them all for a moment, almost like a warden trying to see if one of her inmates was going to make a break for it, then she turned and went back to cooking quietly; taking her rage out on vegetables.

Hotaru finally got done and carried over two huge serving plates of food. One plate had rolls and rolls of Tamagoyaki of all different sorts and colors and decoration, sweet on one side, salty on the other, the two separated by a line of soy sauce. The other plate had bacon on one side and cutely decorated pancakes on the other. She turned and went back to the counter, returning with a large serving bowl of white rice that had steam rising off of it.

Going back another time, she began to set two bowls in front of each person, then give them a plate, then a pair of chopsticks. She placed a cup in front of each person, then placed a thick syrup near the shaped and decorated pancakes. She came back with a large pot, ladling fresh miso soup into one of everyone's bowls, then put the pot on the stove and covered it. She came back again with a tray with orange juice, a tea pot, milk, and apple juice on it. Even a bottle of chocolate syrup.

Everyone studied her in shock, wondering what the hell had happened to the girl that had just been screaming and bitching at them a moment ago. Hotaru smiled at Nikoru, asking her what she wanted to drink and pouring her a glass of apple juice. Tobi cried out next to Nikoru, holding up his glass and asking for chocolate milk, which Hotaru giggled and obligingly made. She proceeded around the table like this, being kinder than any waitress they had ever come across, and smiling the prettiest little smile.

When everyone was served she put the tray down on the counter, coming over and sitting at the extra seat at the table, across from Itachi and between Nikoru and Tobi. "I hope y'all enjoy it! Thank you for being so patient!" She giggled and picked up her chopsticks. "Itadakimasu!" She giggled and Tobi and Nikoru cried out with her, then began to dig in. The others were still too stunned to really say anything.

"I-I don't get it…what the hell happened, un?" Deidara pointed at Hotaru like she was bleeding from the ears. Nikoru giggled, piling bacon and pancakes onto her plate.

"Hotaru-chan always gets like this after she cooks! Just take the blessing and eat!" She beamed and Hotaru blushed, looking down at her plate with a soft smile.

"I'm sorry I was such a bitch when I was cooking…I just don't like to be interrupted or anything. Forgive me, Deidara-kun." She murmured and he blinked at her, then shrugged.

"I'm not complaining, un. I just wanted to know what was up…You're one weird fucking kid." He grumbled, reaching for the tamagoyaki and putting some onto his plate.

"Hotaru-chan, this is wonderful! Where did you learn to cook like this?" Kisame wondered, eating some of the little omelets too. She shrugged and blushed again, lowering her eyes to her plate demurely.

"I had to cook as a child…My father would do nothing on his own due to his loss of will…And I wanted to make people happy through my food. If there's a way to put happiness onto someone's face, it's generally by putting food in their stomach." She smiled and Kisame nodded like he understood.

"Well, you can cook as often as you want." He laughed and she beamed.

"Thank you Kisame-san!" She giggled, suddenly catching Nikoru out of the corner of her eye. The thin little blonde was looking around sneakily, starting to drag the serving plate of bacon towards herself, attempting to hoard it. Hotaru's hand shot for the girl's before anyone could really register what had happened. Nikoru pulled back with a screech, jerking her hand into her chest and nursing the smarting wound on it, looking at Hotaru like a struck dog. Hotaru's eyes narrowed and she glowered at the blonde. "You KNOW we don't eat like that!" She barked, Nikoru whining as she was scolded.

"But, Kisame-san use to let me eat the whole plate of bacon!" She argued loudly and Kisame shook his head with a quiet chuckle. Hotaru only frowned.

"I'm not Kisame! Do you eat like that at home?" She snapped and Nikoru looked down, shaking her head and muttering something. "Then you do NOT eat like that here! You take food off the plate and to your own, the serving plate is NOT yours!" Hotaru shouted and Nikoru nodded, reaching out and putting a piece of bacon on her plate to show she had learned the lesson.

Hotaru suddenly smiled and reached out, patting her head and running her fingers through the girl's thin hair. "I'm so glad you like the food that much though, Nikoru-chan! It's a great compliment!" She giggled, then turned back to her own food and began eating quietly. The boys blinked, realizing that in taking these girls hostage, their lives had just become so much more different than they could ever have imagined.


	5. Cutter

"Cutter"

There was emptiness inside of her again. There was always some kind of emptiness inside of her at one point or another. But, this time, it felt really empty. Almost lonely. Hotaru rolled over, curling into a ball and sighing lightly, resting her head on her arm and toying with a pick in the sheets. She had never felt lonely…well, she had, but normally it was emptiness within her, not loneliness. She had alot've people that loved her and loved to be around her, that made her feel safe and comfortable; everything that fought the loneliness away. But, there was always that hole in her heart. So many people had been placed into it, then left it, leaving the hole a little bigger than it was before. Something was wrong, she shouldn't be able to feel that hole right now…not when she was surrounded by so many people who cared.

"Hnnnh…Hotaru, why are you up?" She rolled over again, looking at Itachi as he furrowed his brow at her. She smiled softly, shaking her head and reaching out for him, brushing his bangs out of his eyes. At night his ponytail holder slipped out sometimes, leaving his hair to fall behind him like a big, black, silk blanket. He rolled onto his own side to face her, placing a hand on her shoulder and sighing softly, already half way back asleep. "You're safe…" He murmured and she laughed softly, nodding her head.

"I know…thank you…" She watched his eyes close again and sighed quietly, her breath rustling a few strands of his hair on his shoulder. Her fingers trailed down the side of his face and his neck, running over his shoulders to pause on his chest. She could feel his heartbeat beneath her hand. It reminded her that he was human too, and needed as much care and love as she thought he did. Her eyes closed and she murred quietly, beginning to drift off, her hand sliding down his chest as it relaxed with the heaviness of sleep. She just had to keep reminding herself that she wasn't alone; eventually that feeling would go away, right?

The house fell quiet. Darkness cloaked the rooms in silent holds, not even allowing the floorboards to creak. Everyone slept peacefully and calmly, barely anyone flinching, even with their dreams. It was almost as if a spell had fallen over them all. From his spot in the garden outside Zetsu rumbled in his sleep, the closed fly trap around his body quivering each time he took a breath. Something stirred him from his slumber though. He winced within the safety of his encasement, his ears pulling back as he slowly fought off the blanket of sleep.

Someone was walking around outside. Someone was awake and up where they shouldn't be. His eyes opened and closed over and over again, having trouble fighting back the rolling black clouds of unconsciousness. Finally he managed to wake up; whatever was moving around was beginning to fade off, making him wonder if something was wrong inside of the house. He blinked, opening up the fly trap partially, setting fingers on the closed edges, watching with glowing yellow eyes.

The yard was empty and silent, not even a mouse scuttling around. The breeze tossed bouts of light all over the ground, the hanging lanterns on the porch moving with it. Then he caught sight of it. Over in the far corner of the yard, over the fence and into the front yard…someone was walking around. He peered closer, narrowing his eyes and flexing his fingers on the edge of the trap. "Someone's up to something…" The black side grumbled and he nodded slowly, watching the figure move from the yard on almost silent feet, running off into the woods, outside of the ninjutsu that protected all of them from prying eyes.

"We need to tell someone…something could be wrong…" The white side offered, glancing around to see if something was out of place. None of the lights were on in the house. He couldn't hear anyone moving around, or see anyone either. He didn't hear voices or anything. The figure had just come and gone. It would've gotten by undetected had Zetsu not been able to feel the vibrations of its feet on the ground he was firmly planted in.

"No…we will wait…Wait to see if it involves us after all…" The black side hissed, making the white side close its eye and sigh again.

"What if something goes wrong? We could be to blame for not saying something." The fly trap was beginning to close, his eyes were getting heavy and he was getting sleepy again.

"Fine…We're just fine…We'll speak in the morning…" The black side grumbled as he leaned back, retreating into the safety of his little home, falling into the dark abyss of sleep once more.

Hidan grinned, running on quiet feet through the woods. No one had heard him leave, no one had seen him leave; it was all going perfectly. He got to a clearing, not too far from the house; though it wasn't like it mattered. He smirked again, loving how smoothly all of this was going. He looked up at the sky, able to see it through some of the parted trees. The moon glowed brightly on him, as if giving him its blessing to go ahead with the proceedings. "I do this for you as much as for myself, Jashin. It is only a pity we could not gain a priestess in the process." He looked back to the ground, clearing the leaves and straw away to reveal cool earth beneath.

Stationing his feet firmly on the ground he closed his eyes, muttering what sounded like prayer beneath his breath. A soft breeze tapped the hem of his robe against his ankles, his arms slowly rising to spread on either side of his body, head lifting to the sky above him. The soil beneath him shifted, one foot beginning to drag lightly across the top of the moist earth, his body rotating with the movements. When he stood still once more he stationed himself in the same position, standing in the center of a blood stained triangle, contained within a circle.

Another breeze ruffled the over sized sleeves of his cloak, his body bleeding into an inky black, violently white markings appearing atop it, shaping themselves into the angular skeleton of his god. Hidan's eyes shot open, glowing in the darkness of the night. A slow smirk pulled at his painted lips, hand finally moving to reach slowly down, pulling a kunai out of the folds of his cloak. Looking at it as it gleamed he sighed, smiling smugly still, holding up his free hand and placing the tip of the blade to the center of his palm.

Hotaru moaned quietly in her sleep, frowning a bit. She rolled onto her back, tossing her arm over Itachi's chest without realizing it. 'She was talking to Sasuke again. He was younger…like when they had first met and he was still so mysterious to her. He was turned, looking over his shoulder at her and telling her something, but she couldn't hear him. She kept shaking her head, telling him over and over again, louder and louder, that she couldn't hear him. Finally he spun on her, grabbing her wrist and jerking her hand towards him. He had those bands on his forearms, the cloth gauntlets that held his terrible secret from the world; his one moment of weakness.

She kept looking from her own hand back to his face. He was grinning evilly at her, looking between her hand and her face, mimicking her movements to the point of upsetting her. She started trying to pull away, shaking her head again, yelping and crying out for Kakashi or Naruto. This was a game, this had to be a game. When they were this young Kakashi never really let her out of his sight, let alone allowed her to train with Sasuke alone.

Sasuke laughed, and that time she heard him. She turned to face him again, her eyes opening in confusion and horror. His body was painted black, with that same weird skeleton painted over it. He had a kunai in his hand and was gripping her hand palm up. She started to shake, kicking at him, collapsing the ground in a slow drag in effort to escape, but he wouldn't let go of her wrist. He pressed the kunai tip into her palm, making her cry out at the sudden pain of it. "Jashin will love you." He promised.'

Hotaru's eyes bolted open, a scream already pushing through her lips. She thought it was all a dream, Sasuke wasn't there anymore, but there still was that horrible pain. Itachi sat upright, Kisame jolting awake too. Hotaru screeched even louder, her fingers curling in with the pain that was shooting through her hand and into her arm in fiery bolts. She held her hand up, looking at it with stunned eyes, seeing a deep gash forming across her palm. She watched it lengthen slowly, as if someone was dragging the knife over her at the moment; but there was no one there. She gripped her wrist, pressing her fingers into her stitches without thinking, only creating more pain for herself. The screams kept coming, louder and louder, making Kisame get up and run over.

"Itachi, what the hell did you do now?!" He barked, but Itachi shook his head, looking down at Hotaru's face and wincing.

"I didn't do anything! I don't know what's wrong with her!" He shouted, looking at her hand as she stared at it. Blood was beginning to trickle down her arm, spilling from the wound. He grabbed her arm and jerked it towards himself, staring at it in confusion as she started to get quiet, slowing her screams down to simple tears and whimpers.

"It hurts, make it stop hurting, Itachi! Make it stop!" She begged, her hand quivering in his grasp as he and Kisame stared at it.

They looked to her, "Hotaru, what did you do? What happened?!" Itachi wondered, but she shook her head quickly, looking panicked.

"N-nothing! I woke up with it! It was happening in my dream and I woke up to it happening for real! I-I didn't do anything!" She cried, shaking her head and watching the blood smear onto Itachi's hands. Kisame went over to his bed, grabbing the sheets and tearing off a strip, walking over and wrapping it around her hand to stop the bleeding.

"We're going to need Kakuzu again…go wake him up, I've got this." Itachi muttered, still confused as hell as to what had happened. Had he attacked her in his sleep? Was he really THAT insane?

Kisame started to walk off, but Hotaru began to gasp and freak out again. Itachi looked over at her, seeing her trying to sit up and jerk her hand away from him, horrified and confused eyes staring at the sheets on her stomach.

"Hotaru, Hotaru, tell me what it is! What's wrong?!" Itachi leaned over, releasing her hand to shake her by the shoulders. She shook her head, dragging her feet against the sheets anxiously, as if kicking away from an attacker, starting to scream again. Itachi looked down to where she was looking again, seeing blood beginning to seep through the sheet over her stomach. He and Kisame looked on in confusion and upset once more, beginning to wonder what the hell was going on now. Kisame stormed over, grabbing the sheets and jerking them off of her.

Her shirt was covered with blood and she kept screaming louder and louder about it hurting again and making it stop. She grabbed hold of Itachi's shoulders, but he shoved her hands away, grabbing her shirt front and pulling it open, sending buttons flying in every direction. There was a huge gash, slowly appearing across her stomach. Not deep enough to spill any organs, but deep enough to cause massive bleeding. He tried to put his hand over it, but the blood wouldn't stop oozing through his fingers, and she only screeched more. "I-ITACHI! MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT STOP!"

Kisame pointed in horror as a cut began to form on her right upper arm, sliding from one side to the other. They were coming faster now, in more random places. A cut to her chest, slicing over her breasts in a quick and horizontal slash. Now they weren't so deep and purposeful, they were just quick and painful. Itachi scooped her up in her arms, trying to get her to hold onto him. "I know what this is, find Kakuzu!" He barked and Kisame bolted from the room. Itachi followed close behind, holding Hotaru close, dragging the sheets with him like a trane.

He ran into the kitchen, lying her on the table and beginning to tear the sheets into strips, beginning to tie her wounds. More and more started to show up, and she kept thrashing. "Oh my god, Hotaru! What the hell did you do?!" Nikoru ran into the room, running over to the table and slamming her hands against it as she looked at her friend.

"I didn't do anything! Get Deidara and Sasori, get Tobi, get EVERYONE!" Itachi snapped, but Hotaru's hand lashed out, grabbing hold of Nikoru's shirt front. She looked at her with death in her eyes, gasping for air and clawing at her throat.

"M-make it stop…!" She pleaded, tears streaking down her cheeks before she let go of the terrified blonde. Nikoru wasn't really sure what to do, follow Itachi's orders or stay and comfort her friend. She began to cry, biting her lip so hard it bled, trying to figure out what to do.

"Do what I say, dammit!" Itachi shouted at her, sending her flying from the room and screaming for Deidara. Everyone came spilling into the kitchen, the cuts coming fast and easy now, Hotaru's blood running off of the table and onto the floor. "Someone help me hold her down!" Itachi snapped over his shoulder. Deidara nodded his head, nodding and leading Sasori over. They began to press her down to the table, trying to stop her writhing as Itachi struggled to bind all the cuts. He was running out of sheet. "Tobi, go get me more sheets!" Itachi ordered and Tobi ran off, having been watching with a stunned eye.

Hotaru started to scream again, this time a cut running as slowly as they came in the beginning, running down the side of her throat. "Try and stop it!" Itachi cried out, pointing to her throat as Kisame and Kakuzu ran in. Kakuzu looked over the scene, shaking his head and grumbling, walking over.

"Pein, DO something!" Nikoru begged, running over to calm boy and hitting his chest with her fist.

He looked down at her, "I can do nothing until you find the source." He murmured and she screamed in upset, hitting his chest over and over again.

"You CAN, you can, you CAN, dammit! DO something! YOU'RE A GOD!" She screeched, beginning to sob again. He simply let her strike him, knowing that it helped her, and knowing there was truly nothing he could do.

"This is Hidan's work. Find him, you find the source. They'll stop." Kakuzu told them, grabbing hold of Hotaru's arm and looking over the cuts there.

Kisame nodded, "Sasori, come with me, we'll be able to hold him down better with you." He ordered and Sasori nodded, running off with him. They searched through the whole house, but didn't find him or evidence of where he had gone. Then they took the search outside. That was when Zetsu burrowed out of the ground in front of them.

"He was out here…he ran to the woods…We SAW him." The black side hissed, pointing into the woods. They nodded and ran off, disappearing into the night. Zetsu watched after them, then looked at the house, where he could hear nothing but screams and feel nothing but violent vibrations. He went into the backyard again, going up to the pathway and staring into the sliding door, waiting to see if he could be of any help.

The cuts stopped for a moment, letting Hotaru catch her breath and slowly calm down. She continued to sob though, rolling her head from side to side and whimpering, broken only by moans of pain. "I will not use my strings on her this time…there are too many for me to. If I did she would wind up looking like me…I know she doesn't want that." Kakuzu mumbled, taking in the quiet for a moment. They were all covered and smeared with her blood, tracking it all over the kitchen and house as they stepped into it when they got near the table. Deidara was holding her arms down, Itachi pinning her legs down by her thighs, standing between them as he studied her face. She moaned again, starting to slip into unconsciousness.

"Hotaru, listen to me, this is just like the last time. DO NOT GO TO SLEEP." Itachi ordered, trying to touch sections of her that didn't hurt, unable to find many of them. She let a tremor rock her body, breath hitching with another sob.

"Why…why?!" He didn't know if she meant for her situation or not being able to go to sleep, but he shook his head.

"Because if you do, you may never wake up again." He told her bluntly, causing Nikoru to cry out. She was hiding in Pein's grasp, unable to watch Hotaru thrash in pain. She had her face buried in his armpit, his arm wrapped tightly around her back. She didn't want to hear or see right now. She just wanted to know what she could do other than cry.

The silence remained for a moment longer. "I need normal thread to stitch these up…Others I just need more binds for." Kakuzu mumbled. Deidara nodded, figuring she was sedated enough at the moment to release her arms. He walked further into the kitchen, beginning to rummage through drawers till he found a needle and some thread. Tobi had come back in by now, carrying a huge bundle of white sheets. He had dropped them between Kakuzu and Itachi, who were both busy tearing them into strips while they had the chance.

Hotaru's eyes shot open again and she screeched. They all looked up, watching her back arch higher and higher as her screams became louder again. "Make it stop! Make it stop again!" She screamed, curling her fingers into fists in the air. She began to kick again, Itachi using his whole body to pin her down.

"No! You need to roll her onto her side!" Kakuzu ordered, motioning for them to flip her. They attempted, but she wouldn't budge.

"It hurts! MAKE IT STOP!" She screamed, her voice finally beginning to go horse. Kakuzu huffed and grabbed her by her left side, causing her to cry out in pain as his fingers drove into wounds. Then he began to push.

"It's only going to hurt worse if you don't roll over! DO IT!" He ordered, his voice sounding vicious and demanding. His eyes glowed with hate and rage, at what no one knew. She fell limp for a moment, allowing him to push her over onto her right side, her arms falling off the side of the table. The cuts were dragging long and slow across her spine and vertically down it. They began to run down the backs of her legs now, cutting deeper than before. They watched helplessly as she screeched, grabbing at the air for that same lost comfort everyone reached for when they were in pain.

Suddenly her eyes widened even further, her breath stopping and her screams too, the pain beyond the point of being able to express it. "M-my…my…" She couldn't force the words out, sitting up slowly and staring into the living room with horrified eyes. Deidara ran over to her, running to her front and kneeling in the pool of blood. "Holy fuck...it's her mouth!" He shouted, falling back in shock as he watched Hotaru's bottom lip slowly form a cut down the middle. In the least he wasn't mutilating her…She let out an ear piercing scream again, sitting up bolt right once more.

"Hold her down!" Itachi snapped, looking at Tobi and Pein this time too. They began to move over, Pein pushing Nikoru out of the way, causing her to fall to the floor. She looked on in shock and pain as Hotaru began thrashing around again, this time punching Tobi in his masked face. He fell backwards and she kicked Itachi in the stomach, causing him to stagger back a step and grip the table's edge. Deidara got punched in the face too, moving him enough for her to roll off of the table. She ran like a woman possessed, screaming now about dying. She flung herself into the door as they started after her, but she got it open and stumbled over its track, feeling herself fall.

Zetsu was on it before anyone else could catch up. He shot forward, having been waiting for his moment to step in and help. He had been able to smell her fear through the door, like a dog, he seemed to have known what she was going to do next. He held her close as she shivered, screeching as the slices began running down the insides of her arms this time. Everyone came spilling through the doorway, Nikoru leading the charge. She grabbed hold of the doorframe, leaning against it as she stared at Zetsu, who clung to Hotaru like she was his wounded child. "We can't help…There is nothing we can do…" The black side hissed, brushing her hair softly with its hand as her head rest on the white side's shoulder. She hadn't stopped screaming, but he seemed deaf to throaty, feral noises she had been reduced to making. "We promised to help…to keep her safe…There's nothing we can do…" Its eye narrowed, the white hand that wrapped around her lower back gripping down harder.

A cut began to form on her cheek, pressed against the white side's neck she began to bleed onto him. "We promised…" It snarled, as if getting angrier and angrier that he could do nothing about it.

"Zetsu, give us the girl. She'll bleed to death if you don't." Deidara stepped up, holding his hand out for Hotaru. His eyes shot towards him, glowing in the darkness of the fly trap. Hotaru hung limply in his grasp now, on her knees on the pathway as he held her upper body against his.

"NO! She's ours! We PROMISED to protect her!" He snarled again, baring his teeth at them.

"Zetsu, we don't have time for you freaking mind games! Give us Hotaru back so we can fix her again! You can't protect her if you let her die in your arms!" Nikoru shouted at him, stomping a tiny bare foot.

"She smells good this way…so good…We want to save her…but the smell…" The white side whimpered, turning slowly towards her, listening to her softened whimpers. Once again there seemed to be a break in the attack. She panted softly, a tremor rocking her form every so often, followed by a muffled whimper. Zetsu kissed Hotaru's bleeding cheek, moaning in ecstasy as he did, hugging her tighter. His eyes opened again, beginning to glow viciously now, more so than before.

"We've always wanted her safe…but have always wanted a taste too…Always…" The black side grinned and ran his tongue over her cheek again, causing her to shiver and whine softly.

Itachi glared, "I'll burn you ALIVE if you don't drop her-NOW!" He shouted, forming the hands symbols and holding them in front of his face, readying for the attack promised. Zetsu laughed this time. A loud, harsh sound that made them all cringe.

"You would kill her! She is OURS now! We will protect her for all eternity; we will keep her safe…INSIDE of us." He grinned, once more showing them his teeth. Hotaru gasped again, her body tensing before she let out another strangled cry. Zetsu quickly looked down at her to see what was wrong, the white side's eyes softening immediately at the sound of her pain. She held up a hand, gripping the black sides arm, pitching into shrieks again. Zetsu looked confused and upset, but enraged at the same time.

"Her wrists!" Nikoru covered her mouth with both hands, watching the stitches Kakuzu had put in her wrists only a while back, start to snap open. Blood began to pour from the wound easily, running down her already slick arm. Then the other one started. Nikoru lunged forward, palm heeling Zetsu in the nose, causing him to cry out in rage and grab his face, leaning back against the fly trap. It snapped shut on the angry, demonic screech, just as she jerked Hotaru by the arm, dropping her on her back on the floor. A cut began to form over her collar bone, but stopped mid-way. They all leaned over her, waiting to see if it was going to happen again, but nothing ever came. It was over. Kisame and Sasori had apparently found Hidan's little hide out.

Nikoru scooped up Hotaru in her arms, holding her upper body limply against her own, touching her forehead to hers. She began to cry, her tears washing some of the blood off of Hotaru's face. Her breath was warm, but slow and ragged. "I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! It's all my fault! If I hadn't of come here you wouldn't of come to find me! I'm so sorry, Hotaru! Please don't die!" She shook her head, reaching out and touching Hotaru's cheek over and over again, trying to pat her awake. "Please, I'm so sorry…We'll leave as soon as you get better…We'll go home…Lola can make you all better and all perfect looking again. Hotaru, I'm sorry, please…wake up…you gotta wake up so we can go home!" She whimpered, Hotaru never moving; her eyes even failing to flutter this time. "Wake up, goddammit! Wake up! You can't let someone like Hidan kill you! He's not worthy of that title!" She began to shake her viciously now, the boys beginning to move in to separate them.

"He's too weak to kill you! Wake up, Hotaru, wake up! You can't let a coward take your life, YOU'RE BETTER THAN THAT! GET UP!" She screamed at her as Deidara lifted her up into his arms, starting to carry her back into the house.

"Get her into her room, she needs rest." Itachi motioned to Deidara and he nodded, taking her into his room to go and try to calm her down. She screamed for Hotaru to get up and kick Hidan's ass with her the whole way down the hallway.

Itachi sighed and lifted Hotaru into his arms, shaking his head and starting into his own room with her, Kakuzu following close behind. Itachi left Kakuzu to his work when he heard the front door being kicked open. He walked calmly into the living room, seeing Kisame carrying a struggling and kicking Hidan into the house, Sasori's sharply coiled tail wrapped around Hidan's body, the point resting against his throat. They paused, Kisame dumping Hidan onto the living room flooring when he saw Itachi. Itachi looked down at the bound man with disdain and disgust in his eyes. Hidan glared up at him, trying to break away from Sasori's strong hold. There was no breaking from the tail's grip once it got around you, everyone knew that.

"So…you couldn't kill her like a man. You had to take the easy way out…the COWARD'S way out. You had to kill her where she couldn't even attack you." Itachi growled at him, his arms folded over his blood covered chest. Hidan grinned up at him, looking him over before laughing loudly.

"I thought I had done some good damage when they came to me with blood on them…but you…YOU show me that I've done perfect." He laughed again, a mocking, vicious thing. He was covered in his own blood, cuts and gashes running all over him, in every spot that there was one on Hotaru. It was a ninjutsu known only to him, and used only by him, easily recognizable when you knew what you were looking for.

Itachi narrowed his eyes, "Poor, Hidan…you can't even kill a little kunoichi without acting like a fool." He smiled smugly at him, tilting his head and letting his eyes soften against him in an evil way. "I should feed you to Zetsu for what you've done." He glared again, "He'd be only too happy to tear you apart and devour everything of you…You should've seen how upset he was when he saw the girl." Itachi grinned slowly as Hidan stared at him with disbelief in the corners of his eyes. "But, I'm not sure even HE would eat a snake like you." He snorted in disgust, watching Hidan's eyes harden towards him.

He began to laugh again, shaking at his bindings before stopping once more. "You have to let me go sometime. You KNOW that where ever you put me, whatever you do with me, I'll ALWAYS be able to do this to the girl. ALWAYS. No matter how far you take me away." He grinned insanely again, "Her life is MINE now, Itachi. And you can't do anything about it." And the sad thing was, he was right. But, Itachi only smiled calmly, deciding to think about that little factor and try to fix it all later.

"Hidan, I want you to tell me what hell is like." His eyes widened quickly, the three commas that encircled his pupil beginning to spin as he stared into the pale violet of Hidan's own eyes. Hidan froze his movements, unable to look away from Itachi now. His mouth parted slightly, but he failed to move. Sasori slowly unwrapped his tail from around him, drawing it back into his stomach as he and Kisame listened to Hidan begin to scream.

With as angry as Itachi was, it may be DAYS before he let Hidan's mind go.


	6. Waking up a Zombie

"Zombie"

The house had fallen very, very silent for the past day or so. There hadn't been any screaming or fighting for a while. Tobi and Nikoru had failed to play their games together, and everyone else had just become quiet. A strange sort of melancholy sullenness had settled on them all. Business proceeded as per usual with Pein and the boys though. He sent them out on errands and missions, they dressed quietly, left on silent feet, and returned somber as ever. There was no more complaining, there were no more laughs, there was just…dead space. Even the yard had gone silent. The birds seemed to have left the surrounding area, even the cicadas were gone.

No one dared to make a sound, words were uttered through drawn down lips, on quiet tongues. Smiles were hard to find once again. Hidan remained hidden away from the world, deprived of anything that he could use to create his jutsu or of sharpened objects that he could use to hurt himself. He had his hands bound behind his back for safe keeping, but they knew it would only be a matter of time before he figured out how to get free; so extra precautions had been taken.

There was a stillness to the hallway branching off of the kitchen too. Few of them went down that hallway, few of them wanted to see what had made it so empty and depressing. They all knew; but none of them wanted to think on it. If you stood in the kitchen though, standing at the sink and looking out the window over it, you could sometimes smell the light scent of lilacs or roses. And occasionally, if you went in there at the right time, and stood at the right spot near a wall or cabinet, you could hear a quiet voice singing. Other than that…there was nothing.

Nikoru's fingers trailed through Hotaru's thick hair, combing through the now tangled strands that were beginning to mat together in places. She had brushed the hair off of her forehead so many times she was beginning to wonder if Hotaru's hair would ever flip again after this was over. Her knees ached from sitting on them, but she refused to move. If Hotaru woke up-correction-WHEN she woke up, she would be scared and would want someone to hold her. Nikoru wanted to make sure she would be here for that. They had missed out on a lot of each other's recent past due to a long lost fight.

She had missed Sasuke leaving, she had missed the near death of Naruto due to Sasuke, and she had missed a lot of Lola's things too. But, they had missed a lot in her life also. When they fought, and they decided to go their separate ways, she went back outside of the village. She decided to live outside of it again, moving in with her father again and helping him with his work once more. They had missed a lot in her life too.

But, now they had each other, and as seen by Hotaru's rescue efforts for her, they weren't going to miss out on any more of each other's lives. Too many nights had she lain in bed and cried for her lost friendships and lost relations. Too many night she was sure Hotaru had wept in lonliness too…Each of them suffering by themselves…When they could have been together to help each other through. Well, now she was going to help her through this, like she was sure to return the favor.

She shifted a little, rolling her neck to crack it before looking back at her sleeping friend. Her head was turned to the side and she was stripped of her clothing. They had now replaced the hasty sheet bandages with gauze and medicated salves. Her chest was wrapped tightly in the same gauze, covering her breasts from the world, and some of the nasty gashes she had received. Her wrists had been stitched together again, those once again the only things requiring Kakuzu's special threads. Everything else had been stitched with normal thread or gauzed over. The only problem was: there were stitches everywhere. Even if they were going to go away at some point, there was no way to make them disappear fast like if Lola had been here.

Hotaru looked a little like Kakuzu now…and Nikoru knew this would not be a good thing when she woke up. She shook her head, sighing and resting it on the edge of the bed as she rest her hand on top of Hotaru's. It was warm, but still too cold to be as warm as it should. Once again Itachi had to give her a blood transfusion, something he willingly did, but wasn't very happy about. And once again Pein had to give her life force chakra that he bargained from his gods. How he did it and what he promised them in return, she had no idea, and wasn't sure she wanted to ask.

The door opened slowly and she glanced over her shoulder. Itachi walked in, looking down at the floor and holding a small package in his hand. He looked up at her, their eyes interlocking for a moment, before Nikoru shook her head and turned to look at Hotaru's hand again. She began to stroke her fingers over the girl's knuckles, her chin once again resting on the edge of the bed as her free hand held it lightly, making her look like a small child peering over the side of the bed. She heard Itachi shifting around behind her, but paid him no mind, knowing what he was doing.

Since they had put Hotaru in his bed and locked away his room from everyone else, Itachi had taken to treating it a bit like a shrine to her. But, he would never let anyone know. All Nikoru knew herself was that he had hung an incense burner near the door and burned some in it every time he came in. He said it was to keep the smell of death out of the room, the smell of the salves and the wounded flesh bothering his nose. Nikoru had tried to punch him in the face for that comment. She never paid mind to his stupid incense now. Though it did smell good. The little burner was pretty too. It hung from three thin golden chains, a gold charger plate attached to the bottoms of them.

Over the middle of the plate stood a golden Chinese dragon miniature, each of his feet gripping an edge of the circular disc. His mouth was open to bear his fangs and he was turned towards the door. Itachi would lay the incense stick beneath the dragon, lighting it and letting it burn a bit before blowing it out softly, laying the dead match next to the stick. The smoke would curl in pretty purples or pinks, depending on the stick, around the golden dragon, almost making it look like the smoke was spilling from his open mouth; welling deep from within the inferno of his belly.

"You need to take a break, Nikoru…She will be here when you come back." Nikoru turned around at his dull voice, tilting her head and studying him. He was still holding another paper wrapped package and she wanted to know what was in it; and what he planned to do with it. He stared at her blankly, having taken his cloak off to reveal his black pants and shirt, a V of fishnet cut low around his collarbones. His silver necklace glinted at her in the dim lighting. She shook her head, looking back to Hotaru and combing fingers through her tangled mass of curls again.

"She'll want someone she knows to be here when she wakes up…She won't want to see herself like this without me there…" She mumbled, knowing that was giving herself a little too much credit, and yet not enough. Itachi shook his head, his fingers regripping the package lightly with the empty crinkle of paper filling the room.

"She'll be fine. I promise. Just go outside and get some air." She narrowed her eyes over her shoulder at him, waiting on him to make the comment she knew was going to come.

"It's stale and dead in here, you need fresh air to keep yourself alive." The remark was truthful, but she hated hearing it. She got up and stomped over to him, pointing at finger at his package and getting ready to say something, but he grabbed her and began to usher her out of the room.

"Before you say something stupid or get loud, think about how much fun it'll be for her to wake up to you shouting and whining when she's going to be screaming in pain." He hissed at her and she stopped, allowing him to guide her to the door and open it for her. She stood in the doorway for a moment, glancing over her shoulder at Hotaru lying in the bed. She really did look like a sad little corpse or some kind of twisted doll.

"Promise to come get me if she wakes up?" She glanced at Itachi who snorted.

"I won't have to; you'll know when she has." He promised with a nod of his head, shutting the door on her and sighing lightly. Once he was sure she had gone down the hallway, he stepped away from the door and turned to look at Hotaru. Now would be a perfect time to take advantage of her. A perfect time for him to begin to try and restart his clan. He closed his eyes, touching his forehead lightly and slowly shaking his head; he wasn't that sick. He wasn't evil enough or sick enough to touch her without her even knowing.

How would that be explained if he had succeeded on his first try? If he succeeded this one time, how would it be explained when she woke up? When she finally found out that she was, she would immediately blame him; wouldn't she? He opened his eyes and looked at her again, slowly crossing the room to stand over her. His eyes ran over her sheet covered form with a heaviness to them. Legs, arms, thighs, torso, chest, neck, face, lips…all of her had a stitch on it somewhere; she wasn't going to understand. He wasn't even very sure she managed to grasp what had given her the stitches in the first place.

Trying to shake his thoughts and trying to get his mind on other things, he turned and walked over to Kisame's bed. Since Kisame didn't want to sleep in the same room with Hotaru, saying he didn't feel right to, the bed was empty, but the sheets tossed like it had been slept in. Recently, he himself had taken over Kisame's giant of a bed. Nikoru had taken to sleeping on a futon on the floor by Hotaru's bed also. The two of them slept restlessly every night while Hotaru slept like the dead.

Itachi laid out the package he had been holding in his hand. He untied the thread from around it and slowly began to fold back the paper with quiet crinkles and quick fingers. He had taken the liberty of cleaning Hotaru's outfit in the laundry tub in the backyard. But, since it wasn't really his job to do laundry, he had done it in the middle of the night when everyone slept; even Zetsu. He had wrapped her clothing in the package to keep it hidden from everyone else, then carried it inside.

Now her pretty little kimono stared at him brightly, its black and purple leopard spots dancing over one of the breasts and the opposite hip. The beads and bells attached to its thick black chord glimmered where he had gently polished them. But, there was another, thinner, package sitting atop the kimono. He reached down and untied the binding on it, unfolding its paper back to reveal hair ornaments. They weren't her normal ones, they were brand new. Black lacquered wood gleamed happily at him, silver paint twirling over it in whimsical sort of way, topping the carved stick with thick silver rims, curved and swirled intricately.

Hanging off of the sticks were a simple ornament apiece. Dangling on thin red threads were silver beads stacked atop each other, a silver bell hanging off the end of each strand, a small red tassel hanging from beneath that. He had shown a man in the neighboring village her outfit and asked him to create the hair accessories to go with it. It had taken a little bit of money, but he thought it would be a nice way to start laying the bricks of the foundation of a "friendship" with her that he was going to need later, if he ever was going to put this plan of his into motion.

Now Itachi picked up each ornament lightly, like it was highly fragile to the touch when, if liked and worn, they would be tossed and batted around in battle until they broke. He unfolded her kimono and laid it out on a chair at the foot of her bed, resting her fishnet stockings and their garters in the lap of the outfit, which he draped over the back of the chair like she was sitting in it. He sat her newly polished getta at the foot of the chair and laid the new ornaments atop the folded stockings, allowing them to catch the lighting when the candle flickered right.

He stepped back and studied his work, then sighed and turned to walk to Kisame's bed, sitting heavily on the edge of it. He rest his elbows on his knees, folding his hands in front of his face as he rest his chin on them, staring with empty eyes at the girl. She had changed something inside of him. She was in the process of making this change bigger, to the point of it being seen; and that was a highly dangerous thing. But, he felt there was nothing he could do to stop it either. He closed his eyes, beginning to mutter a prayer he hadn't thought of since the night the clan died. He knew the gods would have her wake up today; if not soon. He could see it on her face and feel it in the air around her. She was going to wake up soon. And he was going to be the first thing she laid eyes on; he had made sure of that.

Nikoru did as Itachi suggested, not seeing anyone in the house to stop and talk to anyways. Though it had been a day or two, she decided to carry some bandages and salve outside with her, in hopes of catching Zetsu and righting the wrong she had done to him. She slid open the back door, stepping onto the polished walk way and shutting the door quietly behind herself. The yard was almost dead. Vibrant green shouted at her with life and happiness, the colors of the vegetables in the garden beamed happily back at her, the flowers protecting the vegetables waving at her in the wind; but there wasn't a sound to be heard. It was as if the whole world were watching and waiting; or mourning.

She sighed heavily and walked over to the edge of the walkway, sitting down and resting her things beside her legs. She clasped her hands in her lap and closed her eyes, trying to figure out what to do next. There was only going to be more chaos in the house when Hotaru woke up, but who knew when she would do that. Pein had claimed she wasn't going to die, but she got the feeling even if she was, no one would tell her. And Hotaru still felt warm, and was breathing regularly every day…but something still felt off about the whole situation. And she still wanted revenge for what had been done. To her and to Hotaru. She wanted revenge. Sweet, sweet, violent, mind fucking, revenge.

Something making the ground shiver made her open her eyes and look up, seeing Zetsu burrow up out of the ground near her feet. The giant fly trap opened and he stared at her with blank eyes, as if he wasn't expecting her there, then his eyes hardened and he glared. The white side of his face still had some-now brown-crusted blood spattered on it and she could tell that his upper lip and even his black side still had blood on it from his nose bleeding. She blushed and rubbed the back of her head, "Hey, Zetsu-san…long time no see!" She laughed softly and nervously, but he hissed. She opened her eyes again and looked at him with a blank expression, finally letting her brows furrow lightly.

"Hey now, I didn't hurt you THAT bad. And you have to admit, it NEEDED to be done." She held up a finger as she pointed these facts out. Both eyes remained narrowed at her and she huffed, folding her arms over her chest. "Need I remind you she would have died in your grasp, whether by your mouth or not, if I hadn't forced you to let her go?" She tilted her head, but he remained violently angry towards her in expression. Then, the white side's eye softened, and glanced to the ground.

"We know…We just wanted to help her…" It looked up at her again. "We're sorry…" it murmured and she smiled gently.

"I know, I know. That's why I came out here; I knew you didn't mean anything by what you did." She offered, but the black side kept its glowing eye on her; glowering.

"We're NOT sorry! You HIT us!" It snapped and the white side sighed a little. Nikoru looked over to the black side by itself. "You should apologize to US." It snarled and pointed a black finger at her.

"No, she did it to save us…and Hotaru-chan…" The white side murmured, glancing down as it did.

"No! She HIT us!" It wouldn't let go of that fact. Apparently her striking him in the nose had truly upset him. Nikoru sighed and nodded, bowing her head in defeat.

"I DID hit you. And I'm sorry, Zetsu-san." Her voice was quiet and submissive, making both sides blink in surprise and study her in interest suddenly. "But, you must understand, I didn't do it out of anger towards you…I did it to save Hotaru. She's one of my only friends." She offered, holding out her hands lightly in her plea before looking up at them again. Both sides continued to stare in surprise, then nodded slowly.

"We accept…" Both sides hissed quietly in unison and she smiled.

"I'm glad. I actually came out here to help you." She gestured to her first aid things and he glanced at them, then shook his head lightly.

"We have healed nicely, leave us be." The black side muttered, turning to glare off to the side, like mentioning his nose had gotten him sore again. She laughed quietly as a rose tint fell across the white side's cheek.

"We know to fix ourselves, Nikoru-chan. Thank you. We have set it and now we wait." It offered and she nodded.

"I figured you had, but you still have dried blood on you." She pointed to his nose and the sides crossed their eyes together to look, frowning and making her giggle. She rose to a squat and grabbed for the salve she had brought out. "Come here…" She smiled and motioned him closer. He stared at her suspiciously, but she continued to smile gently at him; glad for the distraction at the moment. "Promise not to bite me and come closer." At this remark the sides laughed.

"We have no taste for innocence." The black side snorted and she made a face as he drew nearer.

"Well exc—use me for not tasting good. Thanks a fucking lot." She laughed and stuck her tongue out to him and he hissed a snicker. She reached out, dipping her fingers into the white paste that she had uncapped and brushing it beneath his nose. He crinkled it up in disgust.

"It stinks!" He spat at her, jerking away. She laughed, almost falling forward after him. Then she shook her head, setting the jar on the pathway again as he shook his head again.

"Come HERE, silly. It's GOING to stink, it's medicine. Now, just hold still." He came over again, muttering as she began to rub his face down with the salve. Once he had a mask of it on she reached over and grabbed a wet cloth she had brought out, beginning to wipe her mess off of him. He sniffed her hand as she cleaned beneath his nose in a gentle stroke.

"We could have you for dessert…If you are so offended." He grinned at her and she giggled, pulling back and reaching for a bandage. She pulled the paper off the sticky side and shook her head again, tossing blonde strands of hair over her shoulder as she leaned close enough to place the bandage horizontally over the bridge of his nose. He blinked and once more went cross eyed to look at it.

"Why do we have that?" The white side questioned and she sat back down, capping up her medicine, still smiling lightly.

"You had a small cut on your nose. You'll be fine now." She commented and he retreated his arm's length distance from her that he was supposed to maintain. She watched him for a moment, then sighed. His eyes softened, both sides this time.

"We're just as worried…Is she still here…?" He whimpered and she nodded her head slowly.

"Physically…but she's long gone to us mentally right now. I talk to her…but I'm pretty sure she's playing in a field with Kakashi and Naruto and Sasuke some where." She laughed softly, smiling at thoughts of them all playing and training together. Zetsu tilted his head and listened with interested eyes. "Who knows, she may even be playing with Garra again." Nikoru shrugged as Zetsu's eyes widened, then returned to normal as he logged this information away for later use.

She didn't actually know much at all about that, just that Garra showed up a lot now and Hotaru had tried to explain to her and Lola that he was just an old friend from the past; but the way he acted around her said otherwise. So, neither of them really knew, they just knew what they saw and what she told them. She was very secretive of her past with Garra and her actions with him right now anyways.

Nikoru looked up, smiling again. "I'm sure she's happy and fine where she is though. And when she wakes up, after the initial shock, she'll be fine once again." She promised him and herself, nodding in affirmation to herself. He nodded slowly too.

"We want to see her…We OWE her…" The black side grinned, but she shook her head.

"Itachi would die and Leader doesn't really want you around her, remember? Just hang out here and when she wakes up I'll come tell you. If she will I'll send her outside, but I'm not sure she'll leave the room for a while." She looked at the ground as she said this, feeling as though it were somehow her fault again; though she knew it wasn't at all. He lowered his eyes guiltily.

"Does she look so bad?" The white side wondered quietly. She got ready to say something when he suddenly looked up and at the kitchen window with wide eyes, staring hard at it; as though trying to see through it and the walls beyond it. She looked between him and the window quickly.

"What is it?" Sshe wondered, frenzy starting to speed her heart as he slowly turned to face her again.

"There's movement." He stated it calmly, with a slow smile spreading across his face. But, as she tried to let this information settle in and register what it meant, she heard the ungodly scream. That made her jump to her feet and haul into the house. She had woken up; thank the gods. Pein was right, she had woken up.

'Hotaru whimpered. She was standing at the familiar oblisk of the heroes monument, staring up at its onyx finish and pointed tower piercing the sky. The engraved names on it glittered at her in the moonlight, making her shiver quietly. She stepped up onto the raised bottom of the statue, like she always did, then ran her fingers over the names like a blind woman. There was a light, light scent of mixed lilacs and roses, as though Ino had made a bouquet of them and left them here in offering; but she saw nothing of the sort. Staring hard at the characters she suddenly whimpered again, shaking her head. The name she looked for, the name she KNEW was there, the name she had touched over and over and over again for ten years, wasn't there. As she began to panic a familiar smell greeted her nose.

She spun on her heel seeing Garra staring at her; hard. He was giving her that horrid look that he gave everyone else. That, "How could you hate me, you don't even know me, I'm going to tear you from the inside out now," look that made her cry. She jumped off the statue, running over to him. "Garra! Garra, it's so weird! Daddy's name isn't on the obelisk anymore!" She cried out, shaking her head and reaching him, wrapping her arms around his waist and burying her face in his chest. He looked down at her with those vicious eyes, slowly putting an arm around her as the sand began to writhe around them for some reason.

She glanced around in wonder, "G-Garra…why…why is it acting like I hurt you…?" She whimpered, looking up to see half of his face morphed into the monster she had seen before. It grinned wildly at her and she screeched, pulling away and falling onto her backside, the sand catching her. It formed a wave, flowing towards him and bringing her with it. She stared in terror, shaking her head and holding her arm in front of her face instinctively to ward off blows.

"What's the matter, Hotaru-chan? Don't you think you deserve THIS for what you DID to me? For how you LEAD ME ON?" He snarled at her, hot spittle flying onto her arm and cheeks as he did, his breath moist and heated like the desert sun. He reeked of blood and gore, more so than usual, and when she glanced at him to reason with him, he had flesh hanging from the demonic half of his mouth. She screamed again and he laughed, grabbing her in his clawed hand and dragging her into his chest, holding her close as she struggled. "I'm going to devour you, Hotaru-chan, so that we'll NEVER be parted again." As he said this she screamed, shaking her head and beginning to kick in his grasp.

The sand began to form a whirlwind around them, grains of it hitting her flesh and making it sting. She cried out, closing her eyes and covering them with her free arm. There was a strange smell of lilac mixed in with the sand, and the more it whipped around them, the more it moved, the stronger the smell got. She was choking, gagging on it and the sand flying into her open mouth as she called out for him. "Garra, please! Listen to me!" She begged, but she only got that mocking laughter in return. It fell silent for a moment, ever thing became still once more. She let out a sigh of relief, slowly looking up at him once more, "Garra, you don't understand, I never led you on." She whimpered. The red head went to look down at her, but instead, Sasuke arched a brow in confusion.

"What are you talking about, Hotaru?" He laughed quietly, "Do you have something you want to tell me?" She looked around with frantic eyes, finding herself still near the statue, but now she was closer to it than before. Now she was sitting on its edge, looking out at the pond and the big oak tree, resting against Sasuke. She turned back to him and he smiled gently at her, reaching out and cupping her cheek. "You must've drifted off and had a bad dream." He cooed and she began to cry, shaking her head and grabbing him in a hug.

"Oh Sasuke! You just don't know! I had this dream that I was with Itachi and he wouldn't let me leave and Nikoru had been taken there too and I got attacked and skinned my wrists and ankles! And before that you left me! You beat up Naruto and then you slapped me and hit me and told me that we weren't worth anything to you anymore and you left! They're talking of replacing you and nobody even says your name anymore! I hated it, I hated it so much! Sasuke, I'm so glad you're back!" She sobbed loudly, her sentences running together without her realizing. He had gone strangely quiet, and deadly still, making her wonder if he had even been listening at all. But, she realized, she loved that about him; because that was Sasuke. And she had gotten use to it again with that weird and dumb dream about meeting Itachi.

She looked up at him, smiling lightly, wiping tears from the corners of her eyes and drying her cheeks with her sleeves. "S-Sasuke…didn't you hear me?" She whimpered. He turned to look at her, his face as emotionless as the day he met her.

"Hotaru-chan, don't you remember? I DID leave you." She looked at him in shock, leaning back slightly and knitting her brow together.

"N-no…you didn't! That's why I'm still talking to you! You didn't leave! It was a bad dream! You SAID it was!" She spat out quickly, making him smile in a new and strangely evil way.

She was standing now. When had she moved to standing position? And why was she in her kimono suddenly? She shouldn't even have this thing yet! She looked back at him and he was in some odd outfit, strangely resembling a male's kimono that she had seen before. Then it hit her. Orochimaru.

He grinned, baring fangs at her and hissing as he raised a katana. "You betrayed me, Hotaru. You slept with the enemy…I left you and you KNEW I would come back, but you slept with the ONE person I could NEVER forgive you for…" He lifted the sword and she went to block it with her gloves, but realized she had nothing on except for her kimono. She had been robbed blind! She jerked her eyes up towards the sword that was about to fall.

"Sasuke, wait!" She held out her hand quickly but he cackled.

"High treason to the Uchiha crown! High treason!" He began to shout over and over again in a weird, demonic voice. She dropped to her knees, covering her eyes and bowing her head while shaking it.

"No, I didn't sleep with him! Nothing happened, nothing happened, I swear!" She screamed, feeling a light touch to her shoulder. She looked up to see Kakashi's caring face smiling at her from behind his mask. He had a sword draped across his lap as he knelt by her.

"Kashi! Oh thank god! Make him stop! Make him understand! Nothing happened!" She pleaded, grabbing his jacket front and shaking him lightly. He laughed quietly and casually.

"But, Hotaru-chan, he's right. High treason to the crown." She stared in shock and horror as Kakashi rose to his feet and smiled, "Don't worry, I'll be your second, little Hotaru-chan." He promised and she jerked her eyes back to Sasuke who leered happily at her.

"Death to the treasonist! DEATH!" He barked, dropping the sword on her as she held her hands up once more to block her face. She turned her head and screamed for Kakashi to help her, but he only joined in the chorus.

"Death to the treasonist!" Over and over again. As she screamed she started to gag on the smell of roses from before. Why roses? Why was she choking on them?'

Hotaru's eyes shot open and she screeched, stopping herself short when she realized the room she was in was silent and there was no sword above her head. She sat up, looking around shakily with frantic eyes. The sheets fell from her chest and pooled in her lap as she slowly drew a knee up, dragging her foot across the cools sheets before sliding it back down again. She began to wonder if this was a dream too, when she saw Itachi watching her from the other side of the room, sitting on the edge of a bed. She stared at him for a moment, trying to see if it was all real, trying to figure out if she could trust her own mind again, when he blinked and rose to his feet.

"Well, everyone will be happy to know you're alive." He mumbled, slightly disappointed she hadn't seen his gift and said anything. But, he figured he would give her time. She still had alot've things to figure out anyways. Her eyes opened wider as he rubbed the back of his neck, his hand sliding up and down over the muscle beneath that thick sheet of silken hair. This was real. She remembered what was going on now. She remembered where she was, who she was with, why she was there, and what was happening. She remembered alot've things.

Hotaru jumped out of the bed, running over to him and throwing her arms around his waist, pressing her cheek to his chest and inhaling his scent. Lilacs and roses…just like in her dreams. She looked up at his slightly surprised face, then glanced over his shoulder at the incense burner to see the pink stick burning in it, then she looked back to him. "You burned incense…to keep me tied to this place." She had been about to say, "to keep me tied to you" but figured she had better rephrase that; for her own sake and his. He nodded, prying her off of him to simply rest his hands on her shoulders.

"It's an old trick I was taught as an anbu." He muttered and she nodded, looking down at his feet.

"We learned it at a shrine one day. As kids." She commented slowly, rubbing her own arm lightly. She frowned, noting that talking felt a little odd. And, something seemed to be wrong with her feet. There was something on them. She lifted a foot, crossing it over her other knee as she looked up to talk to him again, her brow knitted in confusion and concentration once more. "Hey, Itachi, am I talking weird?" She wondered and he looked at her funny.

"No…why?" He figured she would have remembered SOME of the incident. She shook her head, scratching at the stitching running over the top of her foot like it was a long scab.

"Umm, no reason…It just feels funny to talk is all…" She grumbled, then huffed in frustration and looked down at her foot. "What happened to my-" She froze mid-sentence and he closed his eyes, waiting on it. She would either go into shock or panic, one of the two.

Hotaru kept looking over the stitching on her foot, her mind racing to try and remember what had happened to her to have that there. There had to be some PLAUSIBLE reason for having stiching over the top of her foot. She could've severed nerves! What had she been thinking or DOING for that matter? She happened to glance over at her hand as she ran her finger over the stitching on her foot again. That was when the lump began to swell in her throat. She had stitching on the back of her hand too. Now she looked at her legs, seeing them and gauze running all up and down her legs and thighs. She held out her hands and looked up and down her arms, seeing the same thing. She looked down at her chest and stomach; gauze and stitches.

Her head finally jerked back towards Itachi, but he calmly stared at her, waiting for it. "I-I…M-my…" She shook her head, unable to think of what she wanted to say or form sentences around the lump getting bigger and bigger in her throat. "What does my face look like?" She finally forced it out, in a tiny voice, as if afraid to ask. Itachi sighed heavily, shaking his head and shrugging with a small roll of his narrow shoulders.

"I don't have a mirror." He shook his head and she looked at him with insane eyes.

"I NEED TO SEE MY FACE, DAMMIT!" She cried out, running out of the room and jerking open the bathroom door. There was steam in the room, and she slipped on the floor, falling onto her back and hitting her head. She groaned, rolling her head from side to side slowly as she reached up and touched her forehead. Blinking away the pain she sat up, hearing someone shouting at her. She slowly looked up to see Deidara holding a towel in front of himself as she shouted at her and pointed to the door, yelling about one thing or another. Then she remembered why she was in here. She scrambled to her feet, struggling not to fall again, managing to get over to the sink and grip down on its sides. Deidara kept yelling at her, but she kept ignoring him, swiping clean the mirror and staring at herself in it.

Hotaru fell onto her ass again. She shook her head once more, backing up across the moist tiled flooring until her spine pressed into the tiled wall. Her fingers tried to grip on the tile, her knuckles whitening with the effort as she stared at her reflection in the mirror, her mouth agape in disgust and horror. She had worked so hard to be beautiful. She had gone through every step known to man, used any salve or creme she could, to make herself beautiful. She had trained and worked out constantly so she could eat the foods she wanted in quantities that she liked, but stay fit and gorgeously curved. And now? Now she was hideous! Why couldn't she wake up from this bad dream?

Deidara finally stepped out of the shower, a towel wrapped around his waist. He bent over in front of her, snapping his fingers at her as the mouth on his palm wiggled its tongue at her teasingly, making gasping noises. She was too much in shock to do anything other than look up at him. He was a BOY and he looked better than her now. Itachi walked into the room, kneeling beside her and gently telling her that he was going to take her back into the room, that she didn't have any clothes on still. She turned to face him, still wide eyed and terrified. Deidara straightened, shaking his head and turning to go back to his shower, muttering about stupid girls and so on.

Kakuzu showed up in the bathroom doorway, looking around for the source of the commotion before looking down at them as Itachi began to scoop Hotaru up. "Oh, she's awake. She's taking it better than I thought." This seemed to please him in some way; as if now he thought she may not think HIM such a monster after all, because she looked just like him now. Hotaru screamed, rattling ear drums and making their teeth clench to keep from biting their tongues. Then she pressed her head into Itachi's chest and began to sob.

Nikoru would at least think she was pretty still, right? And that was all that mattered, right? Even if she did look like a zombie…she was a pretty zombie with big boobs and great thighs and hips, right? …Right?


	7. The Issue with Hugs

_~~**~~This piece was once again written to be a filler of some of the gaps that were in the old time-line of the story. The only problem with this one is that it got lengthy as well, and has a few issues that I couldn't change, due to not wanting to lose the old product and not wanting to run over even more. Hotaru is very chummy with Zetsu here, and Nikoru mentions that Leader-sama has order Hotaru not to touch Zetsu. This DID happen, I just never wrote it XD Who knows, maybe I'll go back and do it some other time. But, when Pein is deciding on what to do with Hotaru, after Itachi decides she needs to say, he lays down some rules for her. One of them is that she's not allowed in the yard without a chaperon, due to Zetsu's unwavering want to devour her and Itachi. Also, when Hotaru calls Zetsu, "Zetsu-san", she's talking specifically to the black side. So, sorry for creating more gaps with the piece that was supposed to FILL gaps XD~~**~~_

"The Problem with Hugs"

Hotaru sighed lightly, glancing over her shoulder to make sure she wasn't being followed. She needed desperately to be alone with her thoughts again, and there were so many people in this house that there was nowhere TO be alone, not even in the bathroom. She slid open the back door, walking out onto the small breezeway that over looked the garden. The polished bamboo walkway gleamed at her as she glanced down at it, padding to its edge and leaning against one of the poles that held the roof over her head. She folded her arms beneath her breasts, tapping a fishnet clad foot against the smooth flooring.

It was quiet outside. So very, very quiet. She looked around, smiling softly as she listened to the cicadas chirring in the trees. The garden was freshly tilled, the vegetables sparkling in the sunlight with a thin coating of water someone had recently sprayed on them. Marigolds surrounded the little vegetable patch, keeping out the pests alongside of their secret weapon. Her eyes flitted to the other side of the garden, scanning the wood surrounded, grassy plain, wondering if someone was looking at her, if they could see her. Or if she too was protected by the genjutsu that hid the house.

In the silence of the yard she closed her eyes once more. Her thoughts were loud and annoying, but she was unable to silence them. Itachi had gotten her all stirred up inside. She didn't know why, but when she got around him, even if it was just to walk by, she got this weird feeling in the pit of her stomach. He went to push her out of the way the other day and she had actually blushed when he touched her. She didn't know what was going on inside of her. Sasuke was the only one she loved; she knew that. Her heart knew that. So why did Itachi make her feel so funny all of a sudden? She didn't even get that way around Kiba or Garra.

The thought of Sasuke made her whimper and her brow furrow. She could see his face again. It never went too far from her mind's eye, like he was purposely making her think of him. She was haunted by their memories together; day and night she saw them and heard them. His voice, his laughter, his commands, his anger; she always could hear it. Hotaru sighed lightly, listening to Sasuke's voice in her head.

' "What part of I'm leaving and don't care about ANY of you, do you not get?!" She pulled back, wincing at the sound of anger in his voice.

"You do care! You DO! Stop saying you don't!" She shook her head, closing her eyes tightly and fighting back the tears. She clenched her fist in front of her lips, turning her face away from him as he glared at her.

"Shut up! Hotaru, you don't get it, I'm LEAVING you!" He snarled, stomping a foot at her, as if shooing away a cat. "All of you! I'm leaving ALL of you! You can't help me any longer, you're all dead weight!" He sliced a hand in the air in front of himself, his eyes the blood red of Sharingon. She sobbed now, shaking her head violently, her hair whipping at her face and shoulders.

"No! You're lying!" She looked up at him, shaking her head and screaming as the tears ran down her face. "You swore! You swore you would never leave me! You swore to protect Naruto!" She stomped her foot at him too, freezing and beginning to shiver. She couldn't tell if it was the rage coursing through her blood or the upset that was making her quiver, but something was.

"You're in denial! Go run back to Kiba, go run and fuck Garra, do SOMETHING other than bother me! Leave me ALONE!" He stomped another foot and she screamed. She ran at him, aiming to tackle him to the ground and make him believe. He caught her though, grabbing hold of her by the throat and hurling her backwards. A strangled screech left her, gutted by coughs as he threw her to the ground and pinned her. He glowered down at her, pressing his hand deep into the flesh of her throat as his entired body rose and fell with the weight of his breath.

"I'm leaving, whether you like it or not, I'm leaving. And none of you are coming with me." He hissed, releasing her and stepping back quickly. She pulled out her own Sharingon, shrieking and lunging at him again. This time she grabbed his shirt front, forcing him to look down at her.

"You CAN'T leave! You swore you LOVED me!" She snarled, her forehead touching his as she clutched his shirt front with white knuckles. He reached up, glaring at her with narrowed eyes. Then he slapped her. He reached out and slapped her.

She reeled backwards, releasing his shirt front and collapsing to her knees. She touched her cheek with widened eyes, her breathing slowing greatly, coming in long, slow draws now. She couldn't even cry. Her body had gone into shock. Sasuke rose to stand, glowering down at her as she cowed at his feet, dropping her head to the ground. "I'm leaving." His voice had calmed greatly. His eyes had gone back to their dull black color and his face became an emotionless slate once again. She wrapped her arms tightly around herself starting to shiver and cry.

"S-Sasuke…please…" Her voice was drowned out by his footsteps as he turned and started away. She never heard him say a word to her again after that. She never saw him again either. Never felt his embrace. Inhaled his scent. Felt his lips brush past her ear as he whispered he was proud of her before jumping away and beginning to train again. No more secret meetings in the middle of the night, no more running off in the middle of training to kiss and whisper quiet sweet nothings before running off to meet up with Kakashi and Naruto again.

When she came home that night she was greeted with the sight of Naruto and Kakashi sitting at her table, Lola and Nikoru looking up at her from the table too. Kiba had been murmuring with Naruto, standing next to him and leaning on a heavy hand on the back of his chair. He looked up at her solemnly when Naruto's own eyes landed on her; Garra looked up from the shadows of a back corner. One look at them reminded her people still loved her, but it also drove her to collapse and start sobbing again.

Naruto got up, walking over to her and dropping to his knees, hugging her when he did. As he hugged her, he slid something into her hands, watching as her fingers gripped over a dulled, silver head plate. The tattered cloth that was connected to it fell over her hands and Naruto's as he slowly reached beneath it and slid his hand into her own. His free arm remained wrapped around her and she sobbed her free hand able to feel the scar on the head plate that Naruto had put there when Sasuke first decided he wanted to leave. "Oh God, Naruto…" She sobbed loudly, burying her face in his neck and moaning softly as a tremor rocked her body. "What am I going to do now…?" '

Hotaru didn't even realize that she was crying until she felt the tears hit her arms. She opened her eyes, looking around and realizing the sun was beginning to set, casting an orange hue over the garden. It was about the same time in the evening as when Sasuke left her. Left them. She sniffled and shook her head, tossing curls out of her eyes and brushing the hair behind her ears. That was when she noted her wrists. She looked at them tiredly, eying the thick chorded threads that held her life together now.

This made her glance down at the backs of her ankles over her shoulder, seeing the same black chords holding together the flesh there. They weren't as easy to see through her fishnet stockings, but the ones on her wrists glared at her. Sasuke had the same thing on his arms too…his threads were smaller and thinner though…and they eventually went away to only leave scars. But, he hid them constantly; they were a sign of weakness. She wondered if, possibly, hers were a sign of weakness too; they sure as hell bothered her enough to be. But, at the same time, they linked her to him; and she had Hidan to thank for that.

"They're not so bad, you know?" She looked up, hearing the quiet voice next to her and wondering who got here undetected by her ears.

"They smell good too…They let other people smell exactly what you smell like on the inside." The second voice was deeper, a little more vicious and threatening. She quivered at the sound of it, seeing Zetsu standing near her, though he was good enough to keep his distance. She scoughed slightly, still holding her hand up and glancing at her wrists once more.

"So is it as disgustingly evil as Hidan says I am on the inside?" She wondered and heard two agreeing chuckles. But, he shook his head, resting a hand lightly on the edges of the closed bottom to his protective fly trap.

"It's a good smell." The quiet side promised with a glimmering eye.

"It's delicious." The black side had that otherworldly voice, deep and threatening, but when happy and content it sounded so. The two sides nodded once more, murring in content as she looked over her shoulder at him once again, smiling softly.

"I hope you're right…" She whispered quietly, closing her eyes once again.

"What's wrong, Hotaru-chan?" The white side made the head tilt, his mouth saddened, but still a gentle smile.

"Yes…whose hurt you this time? We're the only ones who can taste you; we've decided." The black side murred evilly, thinking of eating Hidan for harming the Uchiha he wanted for himself. He would eat Hidan if he harmed Itachi too. The Uchihas were HIS if anyone was going to do any tasting or eating of them. She smiled gently too, shaking her head lightly.

"No one…You cannot protect me from someone who is now a ghost." She shook her head slowly, reaching down with a finger and running it lightly over the coarse thread.

"We can help you…We can." The black side grinned.

"He means, we can help you forget, for a time being." The white side offered kindly, holding out a blanched hand to her. She tilted her head, turning to face him, keeping her back against the pole still.

"How can you do that? We're not allowed to touch, remember?" She smiled, folding her arms over her breasts once more and watching him as the black side visibly cringed. The glowing yellow of his eye winced before he bit his side of the mouth, his black hand gripping down on the fly trap. The white side smiled softly.

"We promise, we can help you forget without hurting you." He offered her his hand again. "We know how lonely you are." He murmured and she whimpered, knowing that it was probably true. It was why she had taken a shining to him; even if he did want to eat her. He knew how lonely she was on the inside. And she hadn't even told him anything about herself. He knew nothing; other than the fact that Sasuke was Itachi's little brother, had run away, and she was searching for him. She walked over slowly; her feet making no sound on the bamboo walk way. Reaching out with a trepid hand she paused, nipping at her own lower lip and hesitating. Though she knew he could keep the black side in check every now and then, she also knew the black side had a mind of its own.

The hand reached for hers again and she sighed, nodding slowly with her own gentle smile and taking his hand. He jerked her into him, wrapping both arms around her tightly, making her yelp in surprise. She flinched, but he failed to move, his arms holding her close to his bare chest, one sliding beneath her hair to hold her head; fingers every now and then running through her curls. His other hand rest on her lower back, keeping her strongly in place. He rest his cheek against her head, sighing softly as he inhaled her scent.

"We know how empty you are inside…and how you long to be held close by someone that cares." He whispered, putting his lips to her ear, causing her eyes to widen and her to draw in a soft breath. She put a hand against his chest, getting ready to push away, but interested in what he had to say. "You don't want empty words, empty promises. The promise of love and adoration from those that can do nothing for you any more…you don't want that. You want an embrace; you want someone to hold you and to mean it, to remind you that you're alive." He kissed her ear softly before pulling back, loosening his hold on her slightly.

This would be her chance to push away, to get the safe distance once more, the arms length distance she had been commanded to keep from him and the few extra feet they had decided among themselves to keep. She didn't believe his white side had wanted to be a cannibal. She didn't think he wanted to hurt her or Itachi or anyone else. He just did it to keep the black side happy.

"You're talking about yourself too…aren't you, Zetsu?" She murmured, looking up at him with both hands on his chest now. One on the black side, one on the white. The longer she stayed near him the more likely the black side was tempted to attack, but she couldn't resist. She was enjoying the warmth of him near her. Maybe it was the fact that she had been thinking about Sasuke recently, that she had been attacked by Hidan and was now being told she wasn't as evil as he proclaimed; but she didn't want to leave him.

"Yes, we get as lonely as you sometimes, little Hotaru-chan. If not lonelier." He smiled at her softly, each side working in unison with each other now; for a brief moment.

"We don't like being kept apart from the rest of the world…" The black side mumbled, its eye glowing violently in the now almost set sun. "We just have no choice." The fly trap around him quivered, threatening to close on her, causing her to blink and look up at him with fear tinging the corners of her eyes.

"Thank you, Zetsu…I needed this…but, I need to get back inside." She started to push off, but the black hand wrapped tightly around her lower back again, tugging her lower body close, causing her to look up at him again.

"They do smell VERY good…almost as good as your natural scent." The white hand reached for one of her hands, grabbing hold of her wrist tightly and pulling it up to his face, pressing it to the side of his nose as he inhaled. Crusted blood had gathered around the chords over the course of the few hours that she had had them.

"Z-zetsu…really…this was very sweet, but I need to go inside now. It's getting dark." She muttered again, knowing that he had no control over this, but he did to some extent. She was starting to get scared, very scared; but she didn't want to hurt Zetsu or have anyone hurt him. She really liked him; like she did Garra.

"Of course, how much more natural can get you than the smell of your own blood?" He seemed to be ignoring her, taking in her smell, beginning to kiss her forearm lightly.

"Zetsu-san, please…let me go." She whimpered, beginning to try and push away, trying to tug her hand from his grip. He was unnaturally strong; close to Kisame strong. Yet he was so thin and normal seeming; it was odd.

"We needed this hug as much as you did, Hotaru-chan. You don't know how so few people we have to hold close." He murmured, the white side's eye softening deeply as it looked down at her. He let go of her hand, stroking her hair gently and resting his cheek against the top of her head once more.

"I can only guess, Zetsu-san…but please, I've been held enough…I want to go inside now." Her voice was soft, almost a whimper. He kissed the side of her head, as though she were a lover or a daughter he hadn't seen in years.

"We want to let you go, Hotaru-chan…We do…" He whimpered in response, making her quiver. "We just can't. We don't want to NOT feel someone's arms around us for years again…It gets cold, even inside here." He shivered and she blinked back tears; curse her big heart.

"I know, and if you let me go, I'll hug you often. I will. I know how lonely you are on the inside, I know." She looked up at him, kissing his white cheek softly, running a hand along his jaw line as she did. "But, you have to let me know I can trust you TO hug you again by letting me go now." He looked into her eyes. Green…a color he loved and trusted, but hated at the same time. He got so tired of seeing green that he hated it; but it was a color he associated with safety and comfort. He loved it; he loved looking into her eyes.

"We're of two minds on it…" The black side murmured, making her look over to it.

"Please, Zetsu-san. Don't you want this? Don't you want me?" She pleaded with him. He studied her for a long time, both sides waiting and looking patiently at her. Finally he shook his head, gripping down on her wrist again, making her wince slightly as his thumb pressed hard into her stitches. "Please, Zetsu-san! Let go, please!" She began to tug and push against him again, but he shook his head, the fly trap around him quivering again. He threatened to close on her, if he did he would bite her; the black side would win and he would devour her.

"I know you can do it! Just let go!" She whined, trying to jerk her hand away.

"Careful, if you break open the stitches Kakuzu will have your head; and we'll have the rest of you." He grinned madly at her and she stared in disbelief.

"Zetsu, you don't want to do this! Just let go! I'll hug you if you let go!" She cried out, beginning to kick at his legs, trying to free herself in any way possible now. The door slid open, spilling a pool of light onto them, causing him to look up. She jerked her head around and looked over her shoulder with wide eyes. Itachi stood in the doorway, flanked by Nikoru who peered over his shoulder with wide eyes.

"Zetsu, release the girl." Itachi didn't sound upset, he didn't seem worried, he just studied the situation like a father that had caught his daughter kissing a boy on the porch front. Zetsu's eyes glowed in the night, looking just like Kakuzu's; the unblinking eyes of a devil.

"She hugged us first." The black side cooed, touching his lips to her forehead. Hotaru looked between the two of them, quivering in Zetsu's strong grasp.

"Zetsu, let her go. You can't eat her, it's a rule from Leader, remember?!" Nikoru tried to push Itachi out of the way, but he wouldn't budge. He glared at her, shooting a hand out to grab hold of the door frame and block her from moving past him.

"Then she was a fool for putting herself in danger; but that does not give you the right to hold her captive. Release her." Itachi turned his gaze back to Zetsu, continuing on with the conversation as if Nikoru had never stepped in. The white side blinked, his eye softening and a low whisper leaving his lips, one Hotaru nor anyone could decipher.

"We're sorry…We said we were sorry…" He murmured, the white hand releasing her hand. She pulled it into her breasts for safe keeping, starting to tug against the black hand that held her close.

"She's so close…so close we can smell her…We don't WANT to let her go." The black side murred again, the voice deep and threatening, daring Itachi to come closer.

"Would you like me to get her myself?" He wondered calmly, arching a brow and tilting his head ever so slightly. The black side winced softly, "I can help you if you need me to." Itachi offered a hand this time, a glint playing in the corners of his crimson colored eyes. Hotaru looked over her shoulder at him, her eyes flitting between them frantically. She didn't want Zetsu hurt on her account, and she didn't want to be hurt on her own account.

"You would hurt the girl…We will keep her to protect ourselves too…" The black hand tightened around her waist and she yelped again.

"I will offer my services one more time before I take the girl by force." Itachi spoke quietly and deadly. Nikoru bounced on the balls of her feet.

"Come on, Zetsu. Let her go! I know you don't want to get hurt and we don't want you hurt either!" She pleaded, hands resting on Itachi's arm as she leaned over it and pleaded.

"Let her go." The white side mumbled, glancing down at the fear on Hotaru's face as the fly trap threatened to close again, this time flinching instead of quivering.

"She's needed for protection now…" The black side mumbled, but he shook his head.

"She's not if you let her go. Besides, you still want hugs, don't you?" The white side attempted to coax and manipulate the black side. Itachi cleared his throat, reminding them of the threat that loomed. Hotaru looked up at Zetsu again.

"All the hugs you can handle if you promise to release me now and every time. Just let me go, Zetsu-san, please." She leaned up and kissed the white cheek one more time. His eyes closed.

"Let her go…please…" He murmured, straining not to let a whimper break his voice. But, the black side shook his head again.

"Want her…She's wanted and loved here…And will be even further once devoured. You know this." It hissed; Hotaru took this as her time to move. She knew what sayings like that usually led to, she knew what ominous words and tones like that usually meant. Garra had used them too often around her for her not to.

"I'm sorry, Zetsu. But, I promise, I'll still hug you after this. Even if we have to go through this game every time." She nodded her head, then turned to Itachi's extended hand. She twisted in Zetsu's grasp, reaching out her now freed hands and grabbing hold of Itachi's hand, surprising his face into emotion. Nikoru grinned, knowing that Hotaru was resourceful when she needed to be. Itachi waited a moment, Zetsu's black side still refusing to let go of Hotaru.

"Itachi, pull!" Nikoru hit his arm hard, glaring at him as he continued to watch Hotaru tug herself out of Zetsu's grasp.

"Release her!" The white side commanded again, this time his voice loud and annoyed.

"No! She's ours now! She came willingly, she's ours!" The black side snarled, gripping hold of her even tighter, making her gasp for air.

"Itachi, help me pull or so help me God when I get out of this I'm going to give YOU to him in exchange!" Hotaru snarled, reaching out with her other hand and aiming to grab hold of him with both hands. He smirked and finally clasped his hand on her own, just as her second hand gripped down on his arm. He began to tug at her and Nikoru began to tug at him.

"Get off me! I don't need your help!" He snapped at her over his shoulder, but she laughed, grunting with a tug.

"Oh shut up, you're a little guy, face it. You need help." Nikoru shook her head. Itachi turned to stare at her, swatting at her with his free hand.

"I said let go of me!" He snapped another time. Hotaru drove her nails into the inside of his wrist and palm, making him turn back to her with a glare. She was glaring at him harder though, almost away from the snarling Zetsu.

"Shut up and pull, dammit!" She snapped, Zetsu finally releasing her when he felt the coarse thread on her ankles scraping against him. She fell to the floor with a loud cry and thud, gasping for breath as she continued to clutch to Itachi's hand tightly. He looked down at her as Nikoru grinned and released him without him paying attention-for once-so he almost fell forward onto Hotaru. She slowly looked up at him, staring into his eyes and feeling that weird feeling she had been thinking about earlier.

"Are you blushing?" He frowned and let go of her hand, but she hesitated to let go of his. She snapped out of it, shaking her head and releasing him, getting up on her own. Turning and looking at Zetsu, she saw him beginning to close and shrink away into the night.

"Hey, Zetsu," He glanced up at her as the fly trap began to close around his form, encasing him slowly in darkness. "I don't hold anything against you; I understand." She smiled and winked, blowing him a kiss. She watched the white side of him blush and for a moment she wondered if that was the real Zetsu, the one that had no black side to argue with.

"Thank you, Hotaru-chan…" He murmured before closing completely. She turned back to see Itachi going inside, leaving Nikoru to run over to her and hug her tightly. She beamed, snorting a giggle brightly.

"You looked so silly being pulled away from him, you know that?" Hotaru sighed, shaking her head and rolling her eyes.

"Thank you, Nikoru-chan. That means a lot to me." She laughed softly and Nikoru beamed, shutting the door behind herself.

"Yup, I know. It's why you love me!" She grinned, then tilted her head, resting it on Hotaru's shoulder as they walked. "So, why did you hug him? What were you out there for in the first place?" She wondered and Hotaru sighed, fighting back the flood of memories that being outside had brought on.

"Nothing…just watching the sun set." She mumbled, glancing at Itachi as he glanced over his shoulder at her, obviously eaves dropping. "Hey, Nik?" She stopped and turned to her best friend, who paused and turned to her too, smiling gently.

"Yeah, hun?" She tilted her head and waited patiently for her to speak.

"Do you think He thinks of me, ever?" She looked at the floor, embarrassed for asking, her cheeks turning a rose color.

"I think he thinks of you a lot." She smiled gently, touching her friend's arm lightly and nodding. "Come on, let's go make some chahan." She began to guide Hotaru into the kitchen, smiling as gently as she could. Hotaru nodded and sighed, trying to smile too, but having a little trouble. She never had gotten to even say good-bye properly, let alone hug him good-bye. She wondered if Zetsu ever go to tell his loved ones good-bye the right way…


	8. Hats and Omamori

_~~**~~Nikkias(the girl that wrote this with me) and I were sitting around one day trying to come up with ideas for the story. We were looking at pictures of the Akatsuki as we did and we happened to notice their little bells attached to their hats. Some people draw them in their artwork, others do not. Sometimes they're in the comic, sometimes they're not. So, we started trying to figure out what the bells meant symbolically and why they had been put there and by who. I mean, the Akatsuki don't strike me as a blatantly symbolic group-like, they don't put their symbols on themselves, the author just does it for them. So, we decided the girls would be the ones to give the bells to them. It was just a cute way for us to attach our OCs to the boys and to add a hunk of writing to the story-back when it was short XD~~**~~_

"Hats and Omamori"

"I get so sick of the crap Pein puts us through." Deidara stormed into the house in a rush of black cloth and blonde hair. The rustle of paper followed him, Itachi walking in behind him, rolling his eyes. Kisame laughed softly, shutting the door behind them all and shrugging.

"It wasn't so bad, not like he made us do something hard this time." He commented, taking off his cloak and tossing it over the back of the couch. Deidara turned on him, narrowing his eyes before rolling them.

"We put on all this get up just so we can freaking go out and destroy some guy who said Konan was ugly. I don't give a shit about who says what about her, HE should go out and do it, not us!" He reached up and grabbed hold of his hat, hurling it the wall. It landed with a snap, the paper strands rustling loudly, whipping together before it landed on the floor upside down.

"Calm down, he's leader, you do what he says." Itachi stated calmly, taking off his own hat and cloak, draping them over his arm and beginning off into his room. Kisame chuckled again, nodding absently.

"He's right, and again, at least it wasn't something difficult." He shrugged, always the one to look on the positive side. Deidara grumbled loudly, sitting heavily on the back of the couch and folding his arms over his chest.

"Hey, y'all are back! Great!" Nikoru ran into the room, launching on Deidara and wrapping her arms around his neck. He groaned loudly, rolling his eyes one more time.

"Get off me, I'm not in the mood." He snapped and she giggled, nuzzling her nose into his cheek and grinning.

"When are you ever, Dei, honey, when are you ever?" She cooed, combing her fingers through his hair and making him shiver.

"Stop it! Get off!" He shoved at her, but she was stuck to him, now wrapping her legs around his waist.

"But, I missed you so much! I looked for you all over!" She murred and he continued pushing at her.

"Stop, stop, stop! I'm SO not in the mood for this! And quit touching my hair, dammit!" He swatted at her with his hand and she laughed, her fingers catching in his hair; he winced and clenched his teeth to stop from snapping at her.

"Ooops, sorry, Dei." She blushed and giggled softly, deciding it was time to get off of him. As she did he let out a sigh of relief.

"Thank you, un. Now, stay ten feet away from me for the rest of the day." He muttered and she laughed, shaking her head and going over to Kisame who had sat down in one of the chairs and has his eyes closed.

"Fine, I'll go love on Kisame! I know HE missed me." She beamed, bouncing over to him and plopping down on the fish man's lap heavily. He opened his eyes and gave her a toothy grin, reaching up and patting her head lightly.

"Of course I did, little kunoichi. Life's no fun when you're not around to make me laugh." He chuckled as she blushed and beamed, leaning forward and wrapping her arms around his neck, resting her head on his huge shoulder.

"So what did y'all go do? Did Pein send you on a really important mission? Was it DANGEROUS?" She stressed the word 'dangerous', sitting up quickly to stare at him with big eyes that were thoroughly excited and expectant. He laughed, opening his mouth to speak, when Deidara scoughed.

"Are you kidding me? We haven't been on a serious mission since we freakin' picked you up." He tossed a hand her way, turning away from her after he had spoken and muttering beneath his breath.

"What's that supposed to mean?" She made a face at him and he grumbled again, shifting his feet in an annoyed manner. Kisame shook his head.

"Don't mind him, he's just grumpy cause he hates-" his words were cut off by another annoyed cry of frustration, making him look up. Matter-of-factly they all did.

"I don't care! What part of that don't you GET?" Itachi snapped loudly, glaring over his shoulder at Hotaru as she basically chased him down the hallway. He stalked into the living room where they all were staring at him in confusion, and Hotaru stalked right after him.

"That little part about the not caring." She spat and he threw his eyes over his shoulder at her again, this time in a death glare. She stopped as he paused in front of Deidara, turning to him and getting ready to speak. "Hey, I'm talkin' to you here!" She barked suddenly, throwing her arms up in the air. He froze, mouth open to speak, then slowly closed his mouth, along with his eyes; he looked like he was trying to regain his composure. All of them seemed to do that when they were upset with the girls. "I SAID, I want to go on your next mission." She folded her arms over her chest and cocked her hip out to the side, reminding them all that she had great curves. He took in a deep breath, then turned to face her.

"And I said, you can't. Take it up with Leader if anything, just leave me the fuck alone about it!" The way he said it meant he was serious and final on the matter.

"I will NOT! I want to go on the damned mission! Being in this house all the time is driving me up a fucking wall! You're not stuck in here with Tobi and HER for hours at a time!" She pointed accusingly to Nikoru, who was still sitting on Kisame's lap, all of them looking at the two like it was some sort of show to watch. Nikoru giggled and blushed again as Itachi glanced over his shoulder at her, then at Hotaru again.

"Yeah…sorry about that, Hotaru-chan. Tobi and I get just as bored though…" She rubbed the back of her head and winced softly, smiling lightly at her. Kisame chuckled, looking down at her with a smirk.

"What do you two do to bother poor Hotaru-chan so badly?" he wondered, patting her back lightly. She shrugged, turning to look at him with a smile.

"Nothing…just…play." She murmured and Hotaru frowned at her again.

"Yeah, play fucking, 'No ones home so we're going to chase Hotaru around the house trying to give her a hair cut'! I'm NOT going to do THAT again." She glared and Nikoru blushed and rubbed the back of her head again, giggling softly as Kisame laughed. Itachi shook his head, shrugging.

"It's not my problem. So stop BOTHERING me with it." Itachi growled and Hotaru looked back to him.

"Why can't I go? I'm a good fighter, you KNOW I am. So why can't I?" She whined now, stomping her foot like a little kid, sticking out her lower lip, pouting and everything.

"Because I said so dammit!" Itachi stomped his own foot; now they looked like a parent and child fighting over grades or something.

"But, I'm going crazy!" She whined.

"Short trip." Deidara scoughed and she glared at him.

"Don't MAKE me come over there, girly-boy." She hissed and he glared at her.

"DO it. I dare you." He hissed right back, pressing each hand into the back of the couch, ready to lunge at her. She opened her mouth to speak when Kisame did instead.

"Now, now, children. If you can't play nice we'll have to separate you." He grinned as he spoke and all of them looked to him. Nikoru giggled wildly, but the rest of them muttered under their breaths and looked away again.

"Oh, Kisame-san, you're the greatest." Nikoru beamed and hugged him, kissing his cheek and causing him to laugh again.

Itachi started around the couch, going to sit on it. "I WANT to go outside! DO something about it!" Hotaru whined, stomping after him and standing near him this time. He groaned and put his head in his hands, dropping onto the couch tiredly.

"What will it take to get you to leave me alone? WHAT?" He moaned, dropping his head back against the back of the couch and stretching his arms out. Deidara looked over his shoulder and down at him with uninterested eyes.

"Let them go outside, un. It's obvious." He grunted and shrugged his shoulders. Hotaru threw a hand in his direction, looking at Itachi like it was the most obvious answer too.

"THANK you! THANK you!" She called, shaking her hand at Deidara, trying to get Itachi to look at either her or him. "I mean, seriously? You could solve all of this if you would just freaking LET ME OUT OF THE HOUSE!" She stated simply and loudly. Itachi opened his eyes again, staring up at the ceiling for a moment before sighing heavily and lifting his head up, finally looking at her.

"Go play in the fucking garden or something then! It's not like you can't go outside! Go play a game with Zetsu, get eaten by him, I don't care, just LEAVE. ME. ALONE!" He barked the last part, getting up and storming from the room.

"Uchiha Itachi, you get your ASS back here and solve my problem!" Hotaru shouted, stomping her foot and pointing to the carpet in front of her. He flipped her off over his shoulder as he rounded the corner, stalking back into his bedroom and slamming the door shut. Hotaru stood with her mouth agape, stunned that he left her like that. She turned to Nikoru and Kisame, still wide eyed and slack jawed. "He walked away from me. He WALKED AWAY FROM ME." She stated it over and over again, shaking her head like she couldn't believe it. Nikoru shook her head too.

"Poor Itachi, he needs to watch his back now." She mumbled and Kisame glanced at her, then at Hotaru.

"Close your mouth, un. You'll attract fucking flies." Deidara waved her away and walked in the other direction, turning the corner and walking down the other hallway.

"Oh piss off, nancy boy!" Hotaru barked and Nikoru giggled happily.

"Oh, Hotaru, we love you." She beamed, arms around Kisame's neck again as she leaned backwards to look upside down at Hotaru with a happy smile. Kisame smiled too, holding her by her lower back to make sure she didn't fall and hit her head.

"Do as he suggested, little Hotaru. Talk to Leader-sama about it. He should be able to make things right." He offered and Hotaru grumbled, flopping down on the couch and folding her arms over her chest, crossing her legs in front of her.

"Stupid…Itachi…fuckin' girly-boy…" She grumbled all sorts of things under her breath, allowing them only to catch one or two words.

Time passed, Hotaru had taken to pacing around in the living room, driving Kisame out while he muttered something about not being able to handle her anxiousness. Nikoru watched her for a little while longer, becoming drowsy from her constant motion. Nikoru shifted in the chair a little, beginning to try and curl up into a ball to take a nap, when she noticed something odd looking over in the corner across from her. She frowned and got up, tilting her head as she wandered over to the corner and picked up the strange looking beige thing. "Hey, Hotaru…check THIS out." She beamed and spun around, having put the thing on her head and grinning as she cocked a hip out to model her new found toy.

Hotaru turned around, looking at her with bored eyes, then pausing and beginning to laugh. She fell over onto the couch, gripping at her stomach and laughing as Nikoru began making faces and striking poses in her new hat. "That's FANTASTIC! Where did you find it?" Hotaru sat up, wiping tears out of the corners of her eyes and shaking her head, giggling still. Nikoru shrugged

"It was on the floor upside down over here." She pointed to the corner behind her, walking over to Hotaru and sitting down beside her. She took it off of her head and held it in her hands, spinning it between her fingers and smiling. Hotaru held out her hand for it and Nikoru handed it over.

"This thing's weird…like it's cool looking, but retarded at the same time." Hotaru mumbled, holding up the beige straw hat and looking at it from all angles. Nikoru nodded, with a grin.

"Hence why it's so fantastic." She held up a finger and pointed out. Hotaru nodded, smirking.

"Undoubtedly." Then she frowned, sitting the hat in her lap and whimpering. "Now I want one." She whined and Nikoru giggled. The hat was a beige straw hat, pointed at the top. Hanging from its rims were thin strips of bleached white paper. A red string wrapped around the bottom of the hat, meant to go beneath the chin to hold it in place on your head. Nikoru reached out and ran her fingers over one of the paper strips.

"Wonder why these are there…" She muttered and Hotaru held it up again, examining it once more.

"To cover your face I suppose…" She murmured, putting it on her head and turning to face Nikoru. She giggled wildly.

"Did I look that stupid when I had it on?" She laughed, falling back into the arm of the couch as she did. Hotaru pulled the hat off again, snickering herself.

"That and more, cause you were making stupid faces." She grinned and Nikoru laughed again. Hotaru touched the paper strips again, thinking they reminded her of something. Suddenly her eyes lit up.

"I know why these are here!" She gasped and Nikoru sat up, shaking the giggles off and smiling.

"Why?" She tilted her head, taking the hat back and putting it on her head again; it was something you just couldn't resist. Just looking at it made you want to laugh, but made you feel so cool inside that you wanted to put it on.

"These are a Shinto symbol!" Hotaru beamed proudly, not having thought about her religion in a long time. She had figured the gods had abandoned her when Sasuke did, seeing as they kept taking away everything from her that was precious. So, she took away from them. She took herself away. Now she reached out and lightly held one of the strips of paper in her hand as it hung in Nikoru's face. "They look like Ofuda…though they're normally only used in homes and at shrines, you can hang them on things too. Like when the priest waves the wooden wand with all the ofuda tied atop it to purify things." She flipped the paper over to the other side, but didn't see anything written on it. Apparently her assumption was wrong. "Generally you write the names of powerful kamis on them…but I don't see any…I guess they are just for covering your face." She muttered. Nikoru took off the hat and beamed.

"Hey! This is obviously one of the boy's hats, right?" Hotaru nodded in agreement. "Let's go see if they all have one! They probably wear them when they go on missions, like the anubus were masks!" Nikoru was smart when she wanted to be. Hotaru smiled and nodded.

"Probably." She agreed and Nikoru began to bounce happily.

"We can get all of their hats when they go to sleep! We can MAKE these ofuda strips! We can write the names of kamis on the backs of the strips of paper, that way the boy's will think of us when they leave us behind. We can even find omamoris and put them on here to protect them all!" She squealed and Hotaru laughed.

"You have to change out ofuda strips annually, and they probably won't appreciate us writing all over their hats." She pointed out, using a motherly-like tone. Nikoru visibly deflated, making Hotaru feel bad. She reached out and patted Nikoru's knee, then got an idea. "We can still give them omamoris though. If they take them off then that's their problem, at least we ATTEMPTED to protect them." Nikoru looked up excitedly.

"What should we put on them?" She squeaked in excitement. Hotaru thought.

"Well, we can't go to a shrine to get normal omamoris…but I think if we just as the gods to bless something they will." She nipped at her lower lip, still trying to decide what to put on the hats. She glanced down at it in Nikoru's hand, what would look good on it without being TOO noticeable? Then she smiled, "Bells. Come with me." She stood up and took Nikoru's hand, leading her off.

Getting the hats was the hard part. They had to wait until that night, then sneak into everyone's rooms-even Pein and Konan's-and grab the hats before they noticed. They had to use every ounce of stealth they had in them, some of the boys more dangerous than others if they woke up. They wanted to leave Hidan out, and Konan, but didn't want to start anything when everyone found their little surprises. So, they put bells on theirs too.

The girls sat at the kitchen table, working well into the night. Each bell had to hang down in the boys' faces, enough for them to hear the bell and see it. They wanted them to hear the bell and think of their laughter, and they wanted them to see the bell and think of their smiles. Placing a silver hoop into each hat's edge they either braided a thin red string and put the bell at the end, leaving some tassels at the bottom, or they strung tiny silver beads onto the red string and placed the bell at the end. They put the bells on the hats where the paper strips seemed to part, as though that was the front of the hat and they could look out of the strips with one eye.

Smiling at their handy work they then laid the hats out all across the table, clapping twice and praying to the gods to make these bells into protective amulets for the boy's keeping them safe from evil kamis and from the dangers of humans. Then they split the hats up, each girl moving down a hallway, beginning the slow and arduous task of putting the hats back.

The next day went by as normal, well, as normal as it could in a house like this one. Then, the girls got their break. Pein decided to send Itachi, Kisame, Deidara, and Sasori out on a mission. Each boy went into his room, grabbing his cloak and dawning it, then grabbing his hat. The girls waited eagerly in the living room, sitting on the couch and spun around to face the door, waiting impatiently for someone to notice. As they began to slowly assemble in the living room Itachi put on his hat, frowning when he heard and saw the bell.

"What is this?" He grumbled, reaching up and touching the bell lightly, as if testing to see if it were real. Kisame frowned and looked at his hat, seeing one hanging off of it too.

"I don't know…I've never seen these before…" He muttered, frowning in confusion. Deidara arched a brow as he put on his hat and the bell fell in front of his face. By now the girls had their hands clapped over their mouths and were biting back peels of laughter. The boys were too confused and enticed by the bells to notice them.

"What the fuck is this, un?" Deidara pointed to the bell and Itachi turned to him. Sasori put on his hat, looking disinterestedly at his bell.

"It seems we all have one, Deidara, where were you when we were discussing this beforehand?" Sasori chided him lightly and Deidara glared at him. Itachi moved slightly, the bell jingling softly and prettily. This made him frown and wave it off dully.

"Whatever it is, I don't want it." He reached up and grabbed the bell in his fist. Hotaru's eyes widened and she saw all her hard work getting ready to go to waste.

"Don't you rip that bell off, Uchiha Itachi!" She barked, getting up and jumping over the back of the couch to stand in front of him, slapping his hand down. He glared at her, reaching up and getting ready to slap her, but she blocked it.

"What do you care?" He snapped and Nikoru stood up on the couch, jumping over the back of it and running to Deidara.

"We put them there! We worked all night on it! Don't take 'em down!" Nikoru begged, looking at Deidara with big, puppy eyes.

"Why the hell did you put bells on our hats, un?" Deidara snapped at her and Hotaru narrowed her eyes over her shoulder at him, then looked back to Itachi.

"We thought it might be a nice gesture. A way for us to thank you for not torturing us and just keeping us happy." She explained, trying to make it seem as truthful as it was; but her upset at them not liking their presents wasn't helping her out.

"I said I didn't want it." Itachi reached up for it again, but Hotaru grabbed his wrist, beginning a glaring contest with him. Nikoru saw that Deidara wasn't going to help her, so she ran to Kisame, tugging at his cloak front and looking up at him with the same huge and desperate eyes.

"They're omamori! They're from Hotaru's religion! They're supposed to protect you from evil kamis and from bad fortune! Please, Kisame-san, don't take them off!" She begged loudly, bouncing on the balls of her feet in her usual anxious way. His eyes softened and he glanced at the bell dangling in front of his face, then back down at her and smiled.

"That's a very nice thought, Nikoru-chan, but you have to understand, these boys don't take to kindness very well." He patted her head like a father would.

"Please! We worked so hard!" She cried out, tugging at his cloak front again.

"That ridiculous! There's no such thing as kamis or good and evil, so why would we need protection from them, un?" Deidara laughed and the girls looked at him, Hotaru in rage and Nikoru in pain.

"Some people would consider YOU evil kamis." Hotaru muttered, then looked back to Itachi, who was still glaring at her for holding onto his wrist. She realized there would be no point in the things if the boys only looked at them in discontent and upset every time they saw them. She sighed and let go of Itachi's hand, "Fine. Fucking take them off. I don't give a shit. See if I do anything nice for ANY of you EVER again." She snarled and stalked into the kitchen. She grabbed an extra hat they had made off of the table, hurling it angrily at the back door. Then stomped over to it and snatched it up again, flinging open the back door and stomping out, slamming it shut again.

Nikoru whimpered and let go of Kisame's cloak, stepping back from him and simply sulking out of the room without another word. Sasori looked up at the clock, "We're going to be late for our 'appointment'. Let's go." He turned to the door, not bothering with his bell at all. It was unclear whether he wanted it there or just didn't feel like caring about it. Kisame turned too, leaving his bell on his hat and following Sasori out the door. Every time he glanced at the bell glinting and jingling quietly in the sunlight he saw Nikoru's smiling face and heard her pretty laughter. It made him smile.

Itachi huffed, "There's no time to be messing with bells and hats. Sasori is right, we're leaving now." He walked out, leaving his bell too. Though he acted like he didn't want it, he wasn't going to take it off, even when he had time. It WAS a kind thought, that was the thing. After all the screaming they did at each other, all the yelling and shouting, all the calling each other names…they had still tried to do something nice for them. Without prompting too.

He glanced up at his bell as he walked, his string having tiny silver beads on it over the silver bell. He thought of Hotaru's defiance every time he saw it glint in the light. Of her impudent and defiant eyes. The intelligence and independence that shone in them every time he looked at her. And, honestly, the thought made him smile. He thought of her barking his full name every time he heard the bell jingle quietly, and that made him smile as well. Everyone wound up leaving their bells on. Even if they saw them as nothing more than simple attachments that meant nothing, they left them on.

Hotaru sat angrily against a thin support beam outside, her knees drawn up to her chest, the hat held loosely in a hand that draped over her knee. It rest against the front of her legs, the paper strips swaying softly in the wind, the little bell with the red tassel hanging from it jingling quietly in the wind; pissing her off even more.

"You're upset again, Hotaru-chan." The deep, raspy voice made her shiver again, but she nodded to it, never taking her glowering eyes off a tree in the distance. If she could she would've bore holes into its trunk.

"I am; I'm pissed." She snapped, again, not looking at the one who spoke to her.

"How can we help?" This time the voice was soft, but masculine. It calmed her greatly to simply hear this voice and to know that both of them wanted to help her as much as they could. She turned and smiled at Zetsu as he peered out at her from the fly trap encasing his body.

"You can't, hun. The boys are just being little bitches again." She muttered, beginning to tap the hat on the front of her legs absentmindedly, looking off into the distance again. Zetsu glanced down at the hat, tilting his head as he did, resting a hand lightly on the edge of the closed bottom to the trap in a habitual way.

"You have one of their hats…" The black side grumbled and she blinked, looking down at the hat, then nodding and looking to him.

"That's what this whole thing is about." She sighed again. He looked at her with interested eyes.

"We have never received one…we have never needed it." He glanced at the fly trap around him to show her why and she giggled softly, leaning on a hand and putting the hat on the polished walkway between them.

"This was an extra. I don't know how we wound up with it…guess one of the boys had two." She smiled and shrugged lightly. He studied it again.

"There is a new attachment, one we have never seen before." He pointed to the bell that lay out on the walkway, gleaming in the sunlight in front of him. She looked down and frowned, but nodded.

"Nikoru and I added a bell to all of their hats last night; they're supposed to be omamori. It was SUPPOSED to be a nice gesture, but they all pitched hissy-fits about them and tried to take them off." She huffed as she spoke, letting go of the hat and sitting upright, folding her arms over her chest and glaring at the ground. "I mean, who DOES that? It's like looking at a gift and going, "I don't want it, take it back." And then throwing it or something. Only a BITCH does that." She snarled to herself, almost forgetting Zetsu was there.

"It hurts you…You worked hard on it…" The black side cooed to her in an evil way and she glanced over at him again.

"It does hurt…we just wanted to do it for them…kinda like thanking them for keeping us and not killing or torturing us." She glanced at her stitched wrists as she said this, not really counting that night as their fault.

"We would not hurt you…" The white side murred and she smiled softly, flicking the hat towards him, sending it skidding across the floor before it stopped at its base. He looked down at it, then at her in confusion.

"You have that one then. That way you get one of the hats that you never got, and you can keep the omamori bell…at least YOU won't have hurt my feeling then." She leaned against the pole once more, propping a knee up and letting the other hang off of the walkway's edge, keeping her arms folded over her breasts as she watched him. He reached out timidly with a white hand, taking hold of the hat and examining it like she and Nikoru had the other day when they found it. He slowly put it on his head, his eyes crossing as he tried to look at the bell in front of his face. She giggled and got up, walking over and turning the hat a little, so that the bell fell in front of one eye. "Think of it as a thank you from Nikoru and I both. For being so sweet." She smiled and winked, blowing a kiss at him again before turning to walk back inside.

He watched her go, then reached out his hand. "Hotaru-chan, can we tell you something without you taking back what you gave us?" He wondered and she turned, furrowing her brow at him and tilting her head, her hand resting on the sliding door.

"Sure, Zetsu-san. What is it?" She smiled and he glanced down.

"We saw the others…they had their bells as they left for their mission…" The black side looked to the ground as it spoke.

"We are not the only ones who will have a bell." The white side sighed softly. She laughed quietly, walking over to him and squatting down, draping her arms over her knees once more. He looked up at her, able to smell her happiness and her flesh.

"But you'll be the only one that I KNOW WANTED the bell. And I'll tell Nikoru, and she'll know too. You'll be the only one that's a sweet heart." She smiled. He gave a soft one too, but it quickly faded away, like the black side didn't like the feeling of his muscles tugging into a smile that wasn't for evil reasons.

"We like how it smells…it reminds us of you…and what you will taste like one day…" The black side murred and she laughed quietly again, nodding her head and getting up, starting back into the house as he smirked at her.

"Well then, you keep sniffin' that bell and enjoyin' it." She laughed and walked inside, listening to him laugh too; a rather creepy sound when you finally heard it.


	9. Roasted Uchiha Madness

_~~**~~This was a sad attempt at something funny on my part. Nikkias is the one who does the funny stuff and I should've just left the jokes to her, but I just HAD to try my hand at it. All this came off as was a sad and pathetic attempt lol But, the idea came from another session between me and her as we lay on her bed and laughed at nothing until we cried. She has a thing for korean barbeque, so we decided to add that in, and again, Hotaru wound up getting the brunt of it. Tobi was just along for the ride lol~~**~~_

"Roasted Uchiha Madness"

The boys started to gather in the living room tiredly, cracking their necks and snapping their joints as they woke up and began to gear themselves towards the mission they had ahead of them. Pein had apparently gotten a great idea last night and decided to spring it on them at breakfast. Now they all had to go do his dirty work, and Deidara was bitching about it again. "Seriously, un? I mean, if he came up with the idea, shouldn't he be the one carrying it out? Or at least LEADING us?" He cried out, throwing his hands up at his sides and rolling his eyes.

Itachi glanced over his shoulder, disregarding the younger boy's comments and skimming the room for the girls, wondering why they hadn't bounced in yet to say good-bye. Some piece of him almost didn't want to go yet. "Deidara, stop. You don't need to question Leader-sama. Now come on, let's go before we run late." Sasori waved him along and Kisame opened the door, holding it for them as they slowly began to file out.

Hidan grumbled about it being too bright as he stepped into the sunshine, Kakuzu slapping him upside the back of his head and telling him to start wearing some head protection and he wouldn't have that problem. Itachi lagged behind, making Kisame look after him in question.

"Itachi-san…what is it?" He wondered and Itachi blinked, looking over at him with mild surprise registering on his face.

"Nothing. I just happened to wonder who would stay with the girls this time." Kisame blinked, for some reason they all had forgotten to discuss this. He called out to the guys and told them to come back, making them grumble and hiss under their breaths before turning around and starting back towards them.

"What?" Kakuzu snapped and Itachi arched a brow.

"Don't get an attitude." He murmured, turning and glancing back into the kitchen, wondering where the girls were. They were normally up and moving by now. Come to think of it, they were missing Tobi too. He began to run the back of a finger beneath his chin, beginning to think of all the places they could've gone to. "We never discussed who's going to stay behind with the girls." Kisame pointed out and Hidan rolled his eyes.

"They're fucking 20 something! They can watch themselves!" He barked, always very sore at the subject of the two girls that seemed to best him no matter what.

"Sure and when they run away and send all of the countries after us we'll make sure to tell Leader-sama who said that." Sasori remarked over his shoulder, watching Hidan snarl at him with a collected smile.

"I think since Deidara's bitching so much we should leave him behind with them." Kakuzu pointed out; grinning beneath the cloth he wore over his face. Deidara's eyes widened and he shook his head quickly.

"Hell no, un! Last time they braided my hair and put make-up on me!" He cried out, clinging to Sasori's arm.

"Man up, pussy." Hidan grinned nastily and Deidara immediately tried to launch an attack on him, but Sasori caught him and stopped it from happening. Itachi tuned them all out, hearing foot-steps coming through the kitchen; but they were heavier than a female's. Tobi ran around the corner, arms up and waving wildly.

"Don't forget Tobi! Don't forget Tobi this time! Senpai, Senpai, don't forget Tobi!" He cried out loudly and excitedly, running past Itachi who spun to follow him, and jumping to hug Deidara.

"Get off me, get off me, get off me!" Deidara began to fling his arm wildly, but Tobi clung on like a madman.

"Senpai can't forget Tobi this time! Tobi's a good boy on missions, Tobi helps!" He begged and pleaded from behind the swirled mask, but Deidara continued to shake his head, now stomping his foot as he struggled to free himself from the strange man's grasp.

"Tobi, get off, un!" He snarled, but Tobi still clung. Itachi nipped at the inside of his lip before blinking calmly again.

"Tobi, you're needed for your own mission." He called out and the masked boy released Deidara immediately waddling over with excitement glimmering behind the single black eye socket. "You need to stay here and guard the girls. If they escape and get out then we'll all get killed, so it's a very important mission." Itachi waved a hand boredly as he spoke, looking off with a shrug. Tobi grinned and began bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet, clapping wildly.

"Really, really, really? Tobi good boy! Tobi good at guarding!" He promised and Itachi nodded his head.

"Sure, sure, but first you have to tell me where they are." He turned and smirked at Tobi, who paused to think.

"They're out in the garden talking to Zetsu-san!" He bounced excitedly as he spoke, pointing to the kitchen like a dog. Itachi's eyes widened partially before he caught them, then he turned and started towards the kitchen; Kisame following quickly. Everyone else waited patiently, curious what they would stumble upon too, as Tobi continued to bounce excitedly and beam behind his mask. Itachi leaned over the sink, looking out of the window and not seeing the girls or Zetsu in the yard. He walked over to the door and ripped it open, looking around before glancing down at the walkway.

Nikoru looked up at him with a bright smile; Zetsu also looked up at him, the white side's mouth curling into a patient smile too. Hotaru was resting against one of the support beams, her knees drawn up and put together, her feet spread out at odd angles. Her cheek rest on her own shoulder and one arm was draped over her lap, the other out at her side, stretched towards a plate that had cold breakfast on it and a cup that had cold tea in it.

Itachi walked over to her, glancing suspiciously back at Zetsu and Nikoru, but they continued to smile at him. "We're having morning tea, Itachi! Wanna join? We still got some warm!" Nikoru giggled, offering him her cup that had a decent smelling steam rising off of it.

"No. What's wrong with her?" Generally once Hotaru was up, she was up; it was odd for her to move from one place to sleep to another. Zetsu shrugged within the safety of his fly trap and permitted bounds of the girls.

"Hotaru-chan was still sleepy." The white side offered gently before he sipped at his own tea.

"We haven't touched her…we promise…" The black side hissed, knowing just what he was thinking as he reached and gathered Hotaru into his arms.

"She doesn't need to be out here like this." He grumbled impatiently, beginning to take her back into the house as he carried her motionless body princess style. Nikoru nodded before reaching out to a plate and nibbling on a piece of bacon.

"Why're you in mission clothes, Itachi?" She called out after him and he turned to glance at her.

"We're all going. You two are staying with Tobi and Zetsu." He stated coldly and she jumped up, seeing Kisame side step to allow Itachi and Hotaru through the door way.

"Kisame-san! Are you leaving me, really?" She whined, running to him and throwing her arms around his waist. He laughed a bit uncomfortably, but patted her head and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry, little one. We'll be back soon enough. Just try to behave for Tobi and Zetsu-san, okay?" he wondered and she nodded happily before leaning up on tip-toes and motioning him closer. He leaned down and she kissed his scaly cheek, making him blush and pull away as she skipped off to sit back down with Zetsu and finish her breakfast.

"We'll behave, don't worry! Zetsu-san was just telling me about some of his past! You should listen some time!" She giggled brightly and Kisame cast a worried look at Zetsu, who simply let another smile tug and curl his lips up. He shook his head paternally.

"No thanks, little kunoichi. I'll see you when I get back." He commented dully and turned, walking back into the house and shutting the door behind himself. Nikoru shrugged and looked back at Zetsu.

"So what'd you do when you got there?" She wondered, eagerly scooting a little closer to him and nomming on some more bacon. Zetsu thought for a moment.

"We began to carry out bodies…remember? We DISPOSED of them." The black side cooed as the white side continued to try and think, then blinked in recognition. He looked back to her, holding up a finger and smiling.

"That's right; we carried the bodies to a secret place and stashed them, then began to devour them like we were supposed to." He nodded casually and she beamed.

"Don't you ever get full sometimes, Zetsu-san?" She wondered and he slowly nodded.

"We do…but more often than not it's only a few bodies at a time." The white side commented calmly.

"This time was different though. This was many, many, many that we had to eat." The black side reminisced and the head nodded again.

"But, it was delicious. Such a rare, rare treat these days." The white side giggled, as if they were lost in conversation with themselves.

"Oh to sink our teeth into one of THOSE again." The black side cooed again, sighing wistfully. Nikoru tilted her head in question, still smiling as she sipped at her drink.

"Into one of WHAT, Zetsu-san? Is it something THAT good?" She giggled, noticing the gleam in his yellow eyes. He nodded quickly, then grinned, baring his teeth at her.

"You want to know what we miss so much?" He wondered sneakily and she nodded excitedly. "Roasted Uchihas." He smirked as she blinked; trying to register the words that he had just given her. He blinked also, watching her face blank out and sighing deeply to himself, closing his eyes and touching his forehead. "Do you know what we mean?" The two sides were working in unison with their frustration now, upset they were deprived of the reaction they had wanted. Nikoru shook her head innocently, now grinning again and sipping at the last of her drink, reaching for another piece of bacon.

"What is it? It sounds kinda good!" She giggled and Zetsu laughed that harsh laugh of his.

"Oh it is, little one. It is." He nodded his head, grinning still. "But, Nikoru-chan…do you not understand what we eat?" The white side wondered and she nodded excitedly.

"BODIES!" She cackled and he nodded.

"Alright, then what would we be speaking of so fondly?" He wondered, motioning a hand towards her in a languid circle. She blinked and bit at her lower lip, then beamed.

"BODIES!" She giggled and he nodded once more.

"So we like Uchihas…they are delicious…" The black side smirked and hissed, rolling the tip of his tongue over his lips as if he could taste the burning flesh once more. She paused.

"A kind of person?" She wondered and at this Zetsu slapped his forehead in frustration, for once breaking both sides calm.

"We like HOTARUS! We like to eat HOTARUS and ITACHIS!" He snapped, lurching forward at her in anger, his teeth once more bared like a rabid dog. She pulled back quickly, staring at him in surprise for the attack.

"I'm sorry! I just didn't think about it!" She yelped and he sat back, calming his breathing, rubbing either side's temples and beginning to breathe deeply.

"As long as you understand." The black side hissed again, sounding angrier than she had heard it in a while. Nikoru waited a moment, sipping at the tea again, letting him gather himself before she posed her next question.

"So…you ate the bodies of Hotaru's clan?" She wondered, knowing vaguely of what had gone on in Hotaru's past, but not too much. Zetsu slowly nodded.

"Yes, Nikoru-chan, yes. We ate the bodies that were left behind in the fire." He sighed deeply again and she nodded, quietly musing to herself. He began to talk to himself quietly, as if trying to calm himself down by forgetting she was there.

"We liked the barbecued ones." The black side reminded the white side, but it shook the head.

"No, we liked the smoky taste of the plain ones. The barbecued was too much." The white side mentioned, but this time the black side shook the head.

"No, the barbecue was the best. The plain was too dull." Nikoru listened slightly, tilting her head and tapping at her chin as she did. She thought of Korean Barbecue, one of her favorite foods, then thought of an endless supply coming off of Hotaru. This made her smile. She turned back to Zetsu.

"Excuse me, Zetsu-san," He looked up at her, both eyes blinking as if just remembering she were there. "I'll be right back." She beamed and gathered up the dishes on the tray she had brought them out on, then quickly started into the house. Zetsu watched the door shut with interested eyes, wondering where she could be off to in such a hurry after such a conversation as that.

"We didn't scare her off." The black side mentioned and the white side waved a hand.

"No, no, she was planning. We saw it in her eyes." He commented and scooted closer to the door to hear better.

Nikoru dumped the dishes in the sink, hastily running water over them. She wanted to try this now. Zetsu made it sound freaking delicious, and she LOVED any kind of barbeque she could get her hands on. Gloved hands suddenly slammed down on her shoulders, making her cry out and jump a mile high. She spun, a single wet hand gripping over her heart as she leaned against the sink and stared terrified at Tobi's grinning masked face. He pulled his hands off her shoulders, tilting his head happily.

"Nikoru-chan! Tobi is watching you for the morning! What do you want to play?" He asked excitedly and she nipped at her lower lip, glancing around for an escape. She began to try and formulate a lie to cover up for wanting to attempt to eat her best friend, but then she looked at Tobi and shrugged, figuring he was too stupid to understand it was bad anyways.

"Well, honestly Tobi, Zetsu-san gave me a small idea that may keep us entertained for the morning." She squished two of her fingers together to show him how small the idea was, blushing and smiling lightly. He beamed.

"Kay! Lay it on Tobi!" he giggled and flapped his arms at his sides, bouncing on the balls of his feet once more. She grinned and wrapped an arm around his shoulder, pulling the tall man closer to murmur her idea to him. Zetsu listened in carefully on the other side of the door, each side beginning to grin from ear to ear. He leaned back from the door, sitting and thinking before bursting into his maniacal laughter.

"This, will be entertaining for us." He cooed, both sides working together once more. "Let us hope she saves some for us to taste." He giggled, shaking his head and touching a hand to it, still laughing softly to himself.

Itachi laid Hotaru carefully on the bed and stretched her out, pulling the sheets up to beneath her breasts, then rising to look over her. He still thought it was odd she got out of bed for the morning, but fell back asleep…but he said nothing. She seemed to be fine, and he was sure Zetsu nor Nikoru would do anything to harm the girl. She mewed lightly in her sleep, running a foot over the sheets and turning her head before settling down again.

Itachi's eyes continued to run over her form and he continued to thank whatever gods seemed to have given him this small blessing. He could use this girl for so many things…evil and otherwise. Reaching out he brushed a stray strand of hair out of her face, running a thumb over her cheek bone absent mindedly as he did.

"Itachi-san! We need to start heading out!" He heard Kisame's deep rumble of a voice resonating off the hallway walls and cursed the man for not thinking of waking the sleeping girl. He quickly turned, his cloak huffing a breath of air as he stormed out of the door, making to slam it then remembering why he was angry in the first place and gently shutting it behind himself.

Hotaru turned her head in her sleep once more, blissfully unaware of anything going on around her. The slender fingers of the palm up near her head curled and her second hand draped over her chest, taking hold of the sheets wrapped around her. She smiled, a newly familiar scent drifting over her in a short burst, before drifting away again. But every time she rolled her head into the pillow, that scent engulfed her again. It was so close to His…so very, very, close to His. But, it had the metallic undertone of blood, and the tangy taste of acidic regret.

There was softness beneath it all too. That same softness that wafted off of Him…the coolness of an inviting bed sheet, the comfort of a smile, that intangible glisten in the corner of someone's eye, and the happiness of a well needed embrace. She rolled onto her side, curling into a little ball and dragging the sheets with her, now holding them like a teddy bear. Her dreams danced faces across her mind's eye; Sasuke's, Kakashi's, Naruto's…even Itachi's.

'_He kept showing up over and over again and she wasn't sure why. He kept touching her, like he was afraid to show her too much civility, but at the same time didn't want to hurt her in anyway. He acted like he really wanted to reach out and hold her hand, but every time she smiled, offered her hand to him, he'd pull away and shake his head, giving her a dirty look.'_

_'Hotaru sniffed the air, smelling Korean Barbeque and wondering why. She looked over at Itachi and tilted her head, trying to figure out if he suddenly smelt like it and why in the world he did. He didn't seem like a barbeque man. She blinked, feeling cold and slimy suddenly, looking down at herself and not seeing anything. Tilting her head again she ran a hand down one of her legs, suddenly noticing that she was floating. She yelped and began to fall.'_

Hotaru jolted awake with a gasp, having fallen into herself and woken up. She hated dreams like that; hated them with a dying passion. Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes she tried to gather her thoughts and get her heartbeat under control. That was when she smelt the barbeque again…and noticed she couldn't move one of her arms. She frowned, turning and looking at her arm, seeing Nikoru holding it in a gentle grasp. Her frown deepened when she noticed her arm was held up to Nikoru's mouth, which was open and ready to bite down, and she had barbeque sauce spread over her skin.

"Nikoru…what are you doing?" She had learned not to question her friend's tactics often, and she had learned that the girl was incredibly brilliant, but fucking retarded at the same time. Her eyes closed and she looked away, like she couldn't stand the sight of seeing her friend trying to bite into her. Nikoru grinned nervously, still not closing her mouth or releasing Hotaru's arm.

"Heh, Hohtaruh." She giggled, not closing her mouth enough to speak. Hotaru sat up, jerking her arm out of her friend's grasp.

"What the fuck are you thinking?" She snapped and Nikoru winced, pulling back and closing her mouth, looking like a kicked dog.

"Zetsu-san told me of how he liked roasted Uchihas and I wanted to see if you really tasted like barbeque." She explained, looking down at the bottle of sauce on the floor beside her. Hotaru turned and looked at her like she had lobsters crawling from her ears.

"Are you insane? Zetsu's a CANNIBAL! Are you trying to tell me you want to convert to cannibalism? And eat ME, YOUR BEST FRIEND, as your first meal?" She snapped, pressing her hand to her lightly clad chest, slinging barbeque sauce onto the bed as she did. Nikoru blushed again, rubbing the back of her head.

"It's not cause it's YOU, per say, it's cause you're an Uchiha…and Itachi wouldn't hold still long enough for me to taste him." She giggled and Hotaru shook her head.

"Go put the fucking sauce back in the fridge. I'm going to take a shower and get this smell off of me and when I get back, you and I are having a talk about smart things and stupid things. Alright?" She snapped loudly, pointing out the door, making Nikoru hang her head and nod slowly. Just then the door opened and Tobi came bouncing in, carrying bottles.

"I got more flavors, Nikoru-chan! Tobi thinks she's going to taste GREAT now!" He beamed, scuttling over to her as she laughed quietly and looked up at him.

"Tobi-kun, she woke up and is angry." Nikoru pointed over to the now fuming Hotaru and Tobi glanced over too. He tilted his head, studying the girl, before looking back at Nikoru.

"You didn't think she WOULDN'T wake up, did you, Nikoru-chan?" He wondered and Nikoru shrugged with a nervous giggle. Tobi patted her head, smirking behind his mask and narrowing his red eye evilly. "She won't enjoy it a bit; you're going to be trying to EAT her! And so is Tobi! But, that's the sacrifice one must make for taste buds! Zetsu-san knows!" He cooed at her and Nikoru thought about this.

Hotaru looked at them opened mouthed and slack jawed. "I KNOW you are NOT discussing how you're going to be eating me! Nikoru, you're not THAT fucking stupid!" She cried out, slamming a hand on the bed and glaring at them. Nikoru looked at her for a moment again, so did Tobi.

"No…she's not stupid…maybe she's just evil." Tobi giggled insanely and Hotaru looked to him; beginning to wonder just how smart and evil he could possibly be. He thrust a bottle of soy sauce at Nikoru and she gently took it in her hands.

"Tobi will hold her down, Nikoru-chan! Don't worry, Zetsu-san and Tobi wouldn't tell you to do something wrong!" He grinned and dropped the other bottles, running over to Hotaru and jumping into the air.

Hotaru screeched and went to roll out of the way, but he landed heavily on her, knocking the wind out of her chest. He sat on her stomach, grinning behind the mask as he slammed her wrists into the bed, digging his thumbs into the bases of her palms. He wrapped his feet around her legs, forcing them down, now making her hold still. Nikoru beamed, "Good job, Tobi-kun! Don't worry, Hotaru-chan, Tobi's right, they wouldn't tell me to do something wrong or something that would hurt you! I'm sure this'll be fine!" She giggled, simply thinking of it as a game now.

She walked over and started to uncap the bottle as Hotaru began to writhe, "You're fucking insane! Nikoru, snap out of it! This is not a game! This is not food sex! You're trying to EAT me!" She screeched, bucking her hips beneath Tobi and actually lifting him into the air. He looked at her in surprise.

"Hotaru-chan is strong! Tobi weighs much more than she does!" He giggled and Hotaru snarled at him. She felt the cold and slimy sauce dripping over one of her wrists and looked up at Nikoru with stunned eyes.

"Nikoru, seriously? Seriously? Stop it! This is NOT funny!" She was starting to get angry at Nikoru's naïveté now.

"But, Zetsu said you'd taste soooo good!" She whimpered and Hotaru snarled.

"That's so fucking it!" She bucked one more time, almost throwing Tobi off of her, but he bounced a little, slamming her against the bed again painfully.

"Do it, Nikoru! Just like Korean Barbeque!" He egged her on, making Hotaru glare. Tobi was having too much fun with this. He actually thought this was going to be funny. Nikoru leaned down and ran her tongue over the inside of Hotaru's wrist and she shivered, she opened her mouth to say something, but her words were gutted out by a surprised cry as Nikoru actually bit her.

Nikoru pulled back, frowning, "I didn't taste anything but sauce." She whimpered and Tobi laughed as Hotaru started to breathe quickly, suddenly having a panic attack as she was reminded of the night Hidan had her tied down.

"You have to bite harder! Don't stop till you taste blood, that's what taste the best-according to Zetsu-san." Tobi told her and Nikoru beamed, nodding and leaning forward to bite again. Hotaru freaked as she felt Nikoru's teeth sink into another part of her arm. Then everything went black.

She bucked so hard this time that she threw Tobi into the air and across the room head first. Immediately sitting up, she punched Nikoru in the mouth, then tore out of the bed room like a bat out of hell. Tobi got up, shaking his head and stunned the little girl could move him like that. Nikoru was holding her face and glaring, "Now I'm going to bite her ten times harder." She growled, upset that Hotaru didn't realize it was all a game. She grabbed the open sauce bottle and tore off down the hallway, shouting for Hotaru. Tobi laughed and grabbed a bottle too, taking off after her and waving his arms around wildly, crying out for Hotaru to hold still so he could taste her too.

Zetsu listened outside, watching the silhouettes of the three of them running by windows and the closed back door. He smirked, watching sauce fly every where all over the house and knowing that Kakuzu would have a fit when he got home. "We should watch out for Hotaru…we are her friend…" The white side commented and the head nodded slowly, neither eye pulling away from the chase going on inside.

"We will…We won't let her get hurt…but we WILL enjoy the game." The black side nodded again, smirking as it listened to Hotaru screeching and screaming, then watched the coffee table go flying across the room. Nikoru and Tobi's voice echoed out next, calling out in unison about how delicious roasted Uchihas were supposed to be.

"We have started something VERY funny." The sides muttered together, then began to laugh.

"Listen, I don't care what you say, I'm telling you they're just fucking being retarded." Hidan rolled his eyes as he opened the front door, turning to walk inside. He stopped short, causing Kakuzu to slam into his back and snarl something at him. Hidan slowly shook his head, his eyes wide as he stared at the utterly destroyed living room.

"Tha fuck is your problem, Hidan? Why'd you make me-" Kakuzu started around him, shoving him out of the way as he glared viciously at him, then turned to look inside. He froze too, his mouth dropping open behind the cloth mask he wore over it, his unblinking, discolored, eyes staring in horror.

The living room wasn't a living room any more. There was something brown spattered and smeared all over the walls and ceiling, and buried deep into the carpet. It smelt like barbeque sauce all throughout the house. And all the furniture was tipped over, broken, or thrown into another room. There were brown hand prints on the walls, and even a few foot prints. Kakuzu slowly moved forward, shaking his head and pulling down his mask, his mouth opening and closing but making no sound. Hidan walked in quietly behind him, shaking his head too and rubbing the back of it, wondering what the hell could've happened.

"You don't think this is some bizarre aftermath of an attack, do you?" He wondered, tilting his head as he looked at the wreckage around him, then at Kakuzu. The tanned man's hands were forming claws in front of him, his fingers working back and forth in anger and agony as he thought of all the money he was going to have to spend to clean this up and replace everything. They could hear screaming and yelling coming from one of the hallways, and they also could hear more things slamming around.

He spun on his heel, jamming a finger at Hidan and getting ready to take all of his anger out on him, when Sasori and Deidara walked in. "What the fuck happened here, un?" Deidara slowly looked around, lifting up his bangs to get a good look with his lens eye too. Sasori seemed unphased, but did slowly do a full 360 to see the room.

"We fuckin' walked in on this shit too." Hidan explained to them, seeing as Kakuzu seemed speechless with rage at the moment. Sasori sniffed the air, turning and glancing at the wall near him where a smeared hand print ran shoulder level with him. He reached out and touched his fingertip to the brown liquid, then touched it to the tip of his tongue, blinking before looking at them all calmly again.

"It's Korean Barbeque sauce." He pointed out and they blinked. Another loud slam from the back and a door banging shut, then banging open again, made them look towards the hallways.

"Do you think the girls are under attack?" Deidara wondered and Hidan shrugged.

"I wondered that too…but where would the sauce come into play?" he asked, then grinned and laughed. "Unless Tobi's trying to have food sex with them." He smirked as he thought about it, but Kakuzu regained enough of himself to slap Hidan upside the back of his head, making him cry out. Kisame and Itachi walked in, both pausing in the doorway to look around. Slowly Itachi's eyes landed on Hidan.

"What'd you do this time?" He wondered boredly and Hidan glared, still rubbing the back of his head as it smarted at him.

"I didn't do a fucking thing! We walked in on this shit!" He snapped and Kisame's eyes widened a little.

"Where're the girls?" He began to look around, wondering if something had gone down, like the rest of them, when they heard screaming coming up the hallway. They all turned and saw Hotaru running as fast as her legs would carry her, crying and shaking her head, arms stretched out in front of herself. She still had on her night shirt, but it was ripped and torn, one of the sleeves now torn into a short sleeve, its fabric still clinging to her underarm and trailing along behind her like a tattered banner. She skittered to a halt when she saw all of the boys standing in the living room, looking around and at them like it was madness they were there.

She was covered from head to toe in the same barbeque sauce that was on the walls, and some soy sauce, and some kind of red sauce. She had bite marks all over her and her hair was an utter wreck. She panted heavily, tears tracking down her face as she looked to each boy for safe haven. "What the hell happened to you, un?" Deidara pointed at her and she flinched at the sound of his voice. She didn't speak, only looked over her shoulder when she heard a bang and stumbling around.

Nikoru's voice rang out, "Bitch! You locked us in a closet! I'm gonna eat your EYES for that!" Then they heard a laugh, followed by another, higher pitched laugh.

"Tobi's gonna help!" Was called out, then they heard feet coming towards them. Hotaru gasped and looked around frantically before grabbing the only piece of furniture that hadn't been hit or used yet.

It was a side table that generally rested near one of the cushy arm chairs they had sitting near the couch. She grabbed it and Kakuzu cried out, reaching for her.

"No! That's not a-" His words were cut off as soon as she hurled it down the hallway. They heard Nikoru and Tobi cry out, apparently dodge it, and then the table slamming and snapping down the middle as it hit a door.

Hotaru spun and ran for Kisame, diving for his feet. He cried out and jerked a step back, but she ripped open his cloak, diving inside of it for safety. She turned, crouching and sitting on his feet as she held his cloak closed around her, only her terrified face peeking out. She started to rock back and forth, her teeth chattering and her head moving from side to side slowly. "Don't wanna get eaten, don't wanna get eaten…Fuckin' hate barbeque…Don't wanna get eaten…" She kept muttering over and over to herself, whimpering as she went. Kisame looked down at her in shock, then looked at Itachi, wondering what to do. Itachi watched her, then spun around when he heard the other two running down the hallway.

They all looked up, seeing Nikoru flinging an open barbeque bottle around in the air and Tobi flinging his own as they cried out and called out for Hotaru like strange, hungry warriors. Apparently the two of them were so into the game that they failed to notice the boys, only caught sight of Hotaru's hiding face. "Dive!" Tobi cried out and they both started to dive for Kisame's feet, making him try to move backwards again, but he was unable to for the weight on his feet and almost fell on his ass.

Strings suddenly shot out and caught the two of them mid-air, just as Hotaru cried out and closed the cloak over her face. "Hey! What's the big idea?" Nikoru looked around as she hung upside down in the air, the string holding her by the ankle. Tobi was being held by his wrist and was dangling right side up. He grinned behind his mask.

"Tobi a good watcher! Girls didn't run away at all!" He exclaimed, gesturing to each girl. Itachi closed his eyes with an exasperated sigh.

"But, you weren't supposed to let them try and eat each other either, Tobi…or destroy the house." He grumbled and Tobi touched a finger to the mask where his lips should be.

"Oh…but, it was a game! And Hotaru-chan wasn't eating Nikoru-chan, she was just haulin' ass!" He giggled happily, kicking his feet in the air as he did. Kakuzu was quivering with rage as he fought with himself not to slam the two of them repeatedly into the nearest wall they had destroyed. Nikoru huffed and folded her arms over her chest.

"It WAS a game, till Hotaru decided to be a bitch about it and punch me in the face. Then it stopped being a game and became revenge." She growled and Itachi looked at her with some new kind of glimmer in his eyes. He began to wonder what kind of affect living with evil missing-nins was having on these girls. Kisame reached down and tried to pry open his cloak.

"See, Hotaru-chan? It was all just a game…You know Nikoru-chan would never try and actually eat you." He cooed, trying to pull the fabric apart, but having no luck what-so-ever.

"It was NOT a fucking game! She BIT me! Over and over and over again! FUCK ALL OF YOU!" Hotaru snapped loudly from within the confines of her fishy smelling hide out, refusing to let Kisame do anything to get her out of there.

The huge man sighed heavily and stood straight again, putting his hands on his hips and holding his head down. "You can't stay in there forever…I have to move and get undressed sometime." He grumbled and they all heard Hotaru snort.

"Like hell I can't and like fucking hell you will." She scoughed, settling back against his legs, still not letting go of the cloak in front of her; keeping it shut against them all tightly.

"Hotaru, it WAS just supposed to be a game! But you punched me in the face!" Nikoru whined, kicking a little as she started to get a head rush from being held upside down. Itachi kept looking between Kisame's covered feet and Nikoru dangling in the air, depending on which was talking.

"Because you fucking BIT me! You had me pinned down and BIT me! How was I NOT supposed to flip the hell out?" Hotaru barked back, suddenly sticking her head out from between the fabric folds again. She glared, her face surrounded by red and black cloth, making her look extremely silly. "You're retarded! There's a REASON Zetsu stays outside! There's a REASON he's not supposed to get near me or Itachi! There's a REASON you don't try and EAT YOUR BEST FUCKING FRIEND!" She yelled, popping back into her hide out and closing the folds again.

"I was just PLAYING! I wouldn't have actually eaten you!" Nikoru kicked again, now trying to get down to A) hug Hotaru and make her feel better cause she now felt guilty and B) stop the head rush she was getting and silence the ringing in her ears. "I'm sorry, Hotaru-chan…I was just playing…" Nikoru sighed, holding still and poking her bottom lip out. It took a long time, but finally Hotaru's head popped back out from the fabric of Kisame's cloak. She studied Nikoru's face suspiciously before nodding.

"It's fine, I forgive you. But, no more games." She muttered, looking down at the same time as Nikoru. Nikoru nodded slowly, smiling tiredly.

"Okay…" She watched Hotaru pop back inside Kisame's cloak, making him slap a hand over his eyes.

"Hotaru, you HAVE to get out of there! I need to MOVE! My feet are falling asleep!" He tried to shuffle his feet beneath her ass, but only succeeding in moving her up and down. He looked down into his collar, seeing her press the back of her head against his legs and look up at him with a grin.

"Bah, yer fine." She brushed him off and he snarled, showing her his teeth in the darkness of his cloak, but she seemed unphased. "Go ahead, if you can lean down and get me, I'll get out AND give you a fucking cookie." She laughed and he growled, lifting his head out of his collar and touching his eyes again.

"Sometimes…" He mumbled, clenching his free hand into a fist as he heard Hotaru giggle, feeling the vibrations of it running down her spine and up his calves. Kakuzu shook the strings holding Tobi and Nikoru, making them look over to him. Nikoru suddenly winced and pulled back as far as she could from his glaring face.

"Uh…it can totally be explained…" She mumbled and he folded his arms over his chest.

"Oh really? Would you like to try?" He snarled and she laughed nervously, cringing. She glanced at the, now upside down, bottle in her hand and looked at the puddle of sauce she had streamed onto the floor in the time she had been hanging up here. Then she glanced over and Tobi and his bottle still held loosely in his hand; he now seemed bored with the situation. She hurled the bottle at him, hitting him smack in the chest and making him blink and cry out. Then she pointed quickly at him.

"It was all HIS fault! He gave me the sauce and he pinned Hotaru down and he told me that it was just a game and it was okay and he helped me chase her around the house and he GAVE ME THE SAUCE!" She streamlined her words together, squinting her eyes shut tightly as she pointed at him and hurled Tobi far, far, far under the bus for her own sake. Tobi looked between her and Kakuzu with wide eyes.

"Hey! No fair! It took TWO to make this mess! Tobi not take all the blame!" He cried out loudly, kicking his feet and flinging sauce everywhere from his own bottle still gripped in his hand. Nikoru opened one eye and nervously looked at Kakuzu who was snarling as he watched even more sauce fly all over the room.

"Tobi, knock it off!" He barked loudly, slamming Tobi hard into the wall, ceasing his movements. He dropped Nikoru onto her head, "Get the FUCK outta my sight!" He pointed down the hallway and she ran off, bolting into her room and slamming the door shut, locking it tightly. Tobi whimpered and began flailing against the wall.

"It's Tobi's room! Tobi's room!" He whined, beginning to scratch at the wall in effort to get away. Kakuzu pulled him back and slammed him again, then dropped him to the floor.

"Clean up the damned mess!" He barked, pointing into the living room as Tobi turned to face them and touched his head, wincing.

"But…Tobi didn't make it all…" He whined and Kakuzu stomped a foot in his direction, making him jump up and go running for the cleaning supplies in the kitchen.

"You were in fucking charge so you made the mess!" Kakuzu called after him, snarling and breathing heavily as Tobi disappeared into the kitchen. Itachi blinked and looked around for a moment before looking to Kisame, who was making a pathetic "help me" face and pointing to the bundled shut cloak at his feet. Itachi walked over and knelt down; trying to pry open the death grip Hotaru had shut the fabric with. Finally he slapped her hands through the fabric, making her yelp and let go. He jerked open the cloak and saw her pulled back against Kisame's tree trunk legs, huddled with her knees drawn into her chest.

He rolled his eyes and reached for her, but she jerked back. This made him glare at her, "Get out." The words were commanding, though monotone. She shook her head.

"I am 100% safe in here, why the hell would I leave?" She wondered and he reached for her again, this time grabbing a sauce covered wrist and jerking her forward. She squeaked as he rose to his feet, still pulling her forward and away from Kisame. She fell onto her stomach on the floor, barely avoiding slamming her face into the carpet. He held her wrist up and she slowly looked around herself, then up at him as he stared hard, down at her.

"Come on…we'll go get you cleaned up and into clothes." He mumbled, turning and starting off, almost dragging her across the carpet like some kind of caveman. She managed to stagger to her feet and follow after him, not saying a word, only watching his back in surprise.

_~~**~~As a side-note, we never wrote it, but the girls eventually feel bad enough to go back out into the house and help Tobi clean up. It really wasn't fair for him to have to do it all on his own lol~~**~~_


	10. Needed Comfort

_~~**~~The beginning of this chapter was what started it all, and it sort've wound up snowballing and going downhill from there lol But, my only issue with this chapter is how OC Itachi is throughout it and the next two chapters that attach to it. Yes, he's a little OC throughout the whole story, but he gets really bad in these next 3 chapters. I couldn't change it though, for want of keeping the original story in tact.~~**~~_

"needed comfort"

Hotaru wandered quietly into the room, shutting the door silently behind herself. She stood in the dark for a moment, fingertips touching the door handle still, reluctant to leave the safety of it. Her eyes got use to the darkness and soon she was able to make out shapes and forms. She studied the floor, beginning to move across it on stealthy feet. Walking over to one of the beds in the room she stood looking over it, straining her eyes to find some piece of flesh mixed in with the bed sheets; trying to figure out which boy was wrapped up over here. Reaching down with timid fingers she touched an edge to the sheet that she found resting on what looked like a shoulder. Tugging it down slowly and carefully, she frowned, unable to tell the color of the skin in the darkness. Curse these two for not sleeping with a night light of some kind. She leaned over, trying to find the face, trying to follow the curves of the shoulder to figure out where the head was attached.

Her free hand hovered over the now uncovered shoulder as she leaned over as far as she could to see the face, having found it buried in the crook of the other arm. She frowned and rolled her eyes, her free hand pressing down on the shoulder without her meaning to. She grimaced squeezing her eyes shut and waiting to be struck across the room by either a giant hand or a small, skilled one. Instead an arm reached up and wrapped around the back of her neck, tugging her into a tight embrace. She squeaked as she fell into the warm bed, eyes sized with fear, a hand shooting up for the help of someone that would never know to come.

The skin that now rubbed against her own was not soft and feminine like she had wanted. It was harsh and coarse, feeling like sandpaper rubbing over her. The breath that ran over the back of her neck smelt of fish, and the teeth just barely grazing at the nape of her neck, making her tingle all over, were sharp and pointed. She whimpered, looking down at the two tree trunk arms that were holding her body flush against their own in a loving spoon. She was trapped. She began to panic slightly, looking around quickly and frantically for a way out without waking him up and causing a big commotion. She had wanted someone to comfort her, to chase away the fears and thoughts the darkness brought with it; but she had not wanted this kind of comfort and she had not wanted it form this person.

Something brushed against her backside, causing her body to tense and her eyes to open wide one more time. The button down shirt she wore was tugged up on her thighs, his thick legs pressing against the back of her own, his body beginning to form further to hers. He growled contentedly in his sleep, making her whimper once again. The thing brushed against her backside once more, tensing her spine as she tried to scoot away, hoping and praying he simply slept with a knife on him. One of the arms released her, draping above his head as he rolled onto his back, pulling her into his side like a giant teddy bear. She rolled onto her own side, reaching for the bed that was across from her now, reaching for the thin form draped in what looked like cool and comfortable sheets.

"Itachi…" She hissed quietly, reaching for him once again. "I-Itachi…!" She got a little louder, glancing over her shoulder at Kisame to make sure she hadn't woke him up yet. He continued to sleep peacefully and happily, her body draped over his arm, his hand flinching against her hip every now and then. She looked back to Itachi, "Itachi…! For the love of the gods…!" she whispered, looking at the floor for something to toss at him. There was nothing on it; nothing at all. The room was immaculate.

Itachi rolled onto his side, facing her now; resting his head on a curved arm as his other lay beside him. She tilted her head, stopping her efforts to wake him to simply watch him from her precarious position. He looked so peaceful when he slept. Like he could never hurt anyone, simply help them. He looked happy too. She wondered if, in his dreams, he went back to a time otherwise lost to him; a happier time, centered around his family and his little brother.

Suddenly she was falling. She yelped, hitting the floor with a loud thud and laying there for a brief moment before rolling onto her back to look up at the ceiling. She groaned quietly, sitting up and looking at Kisame with narrowed eyes. He had now spread out the entire width and length of the bed, having pushed her off so he could have more room. No wonder he didn't have a girlfriend; if he tried to share the bed with her she'd get fed up with having to fight him for the bed. She shook her head, guessing she should be happy for this blessing. Getting up she turned and walked the few steps to Itachi's bed, bending over him and studying his sleeping face once more.

She reached out with a timid hand, the sleeve of the shirt hanging loosely around her wrists, belling low enough to tickle Itachi's bare flesh. He groaned, frowning slightly and waving a hand over his face, like he was swatting a fly away. She stifled a giggle and smiled, reaching out to cup his cheek lightly, running a thumb over it. His eyes shot open, the crimson of the sharingon illuminating his face. She pulled back at the sight of the livid anger written all over his features but, she wasn't fast enough. He caught her wrist, dragging her down to his level and wrapping a second hand around her throat, making her gasp for air.

She grabbed hold of his hand, driving her nails into it and whimpering. "I-Itachi…s-stop…!" He blinked, shaking his head and glancing around, then looking at her only to bite back a gasp.

"Hotaru, what are you doing?" He let go of her and she coughed quietly, sitting down heavily on the edge of his bed, rubbing at her throat slowly. She blinked and dazedly shook her head, like she didn't know. He sat up, leaning on one arm as he studied her. "You have no right to come in here like that, I could've killed you." She glanced sideways at him with pursed lips, still massaging her throat where he had gripped her harder than he ever had before.

"Gee, thanks for the heads up." She grumbled dryly, still trying to keep her voice quiet.

She glanced over at Kisame, then back at her lap. Itachi looked at Kisame too, then her. "Don't worry about waking him, he sleeps through anything. You have to physically wake him, pretty much." He told her and she sighed softly; that would've saved her alot've trouble earlier…But, she figured she'd keep that one to herself. "Now, why are you in here? What do you want?" He stretched and she looked at his bare chest, watching his muscles pull and contract with the movement. There wasn't a scar on him…even she had scars on her body; was he really so strong no one could touch him?

"I…I got scared." She muttered, looking at her legs and toying with the hem of her shirt.

Itachi raised a brow as he studied her, "Really? And what scared you?" he wondered boredly. She looked up at him, a pained look stretched over her face. The thought of Sasuke screaming at her and slapping her again had scared her. But, she looked at her stitched wrists and sighed, showing them to him.

"I thought Hidan was in my room…" She muttered. He cradled his chin in his hand, resting it on his knees and shaking his head. He pushed her hand back to her lap tiredly, yawning.

"You know he can't come near you anymore, unless we're all around to chaperon. It was a few days back; you need to quit thinking about it." He shrugged, and she yawned lightly too. How do you forget something like that? That was the most intense pain she had ever experience in her life and she had been through a lot of pain already. Well, she wasn't leaving this room. She had worked too hard to get the courage to come in here, and worked damned too hard to get to this bed without dying; so she wasn't leaving till morning.

She sat and looked at him patiently, and he sat and looked at her dully. Finally he sighed. "What is it, Hotaru?" he wondered and she shrugged.

"I'm not leaving. I don't feel safe. So, I'm not leaving till morning when I do." He looked at her with a small smirk.

"Really now? And if I try to throw you out?" He seemed to enjoy playing these little, "let's see who's better" games with her. She leaned back on her arm, tossing curls over her shoulder and shrugging.

"I'll kick YOU out instead." She smirked and laughed softly, listening to him chuckle too; something very rare to hear apparently.

Itachi's eyes roved over her form, watching how the fabric of the big shirt hung lose over her breasts, a few of the top buttons undone for comfortableness, revealing her prominent collar bones beneath and the deep, shadowy swell of her cleavage. He looked at her throat and the softness of it, remembering the night he fell asleep next to her when giving her blood. That was the night he had begun to entertain the thought of impregnating her. He leaned forward, not really sure why his body was acting the way it was, but deciding to see if he could put the thoughts into motion.

One of his hands cupped her cheek gently, turning her face towards him as his eyes met her own surprised ones. "So, you want to stay in here, Hotaru?" He murmured. She nodded slowly, her lips parted to speak, but no words passing them. She was frozen in place, afraid to do something wrong, and afraid of what would happen next. His free hand reached out, taking hold of her arm and gently lifting it from beneath her, turning her upper body towards him, pulling her closer.

"I-Itachi…I…I can sleep on the floor…" She mumbled, feeling their foreheads brushing together as she got closer to him. His head tilted and so did hers, their lashes lowering inevitably as their lips brushed each other.

"Not if I say you can't…" His sentence died out as his lips pressed against hers warmly.

A burst of heat shot through Hotaru's veins, causing her to gasp softly within his mouth. Her free hand reached up, touching his jaw line with gentle fingertips, as if hesitant to truly rest her hand against him. He slowly began to push her to the side, running his fingers through her hair softly as he did. They pulled apart, slowly and timidly drawing away from each other. Itachi pressed her to the bed, climbing on top of her calmly, making sure to move very slowly, so as not to scare her. He knew that her state of mind was fragile right now. If he could just keep her thinking about how much she missed Sasuke and how much they looked alike, then he could do this with ease. Something about her picturing him as his little brother, though, made something inside of him cry out.

His hand ran over her shoulder and down her chest, over one of her breasts, pausing at the buttons between them. She reached up, holding his arm lightly as she continued watching his face. She drew a knee up around him, feeling him beginning to slowly unbutton her shirt. He leaned down, resting heavily on his knees now, running his now free hand through her hair again. Her head tilted back as he kissed over her chin and down her throat, steadily unbuttoning her shirt. His breath was warm and moist, the tip of his tongue snaking out from between his lips every now and then to tease over her skin, making it tingle. She shifted slightly as he slid her shirt open, revealing her breasts, pausing to look over them.

She really was a pretty girl. Even if he only wanted to use her, he had to say, he thanked the gods she was as good looking as she was. He leaned down again, kissing around her nipple softly before drawing it into his mouth. Hotaru sucked in a deep breath, wrapping an arm around his bare back and arching her own beneath him. Her fingers traced over the lines of his muscles absentmindedly, her feet shifting beneath him as she let out a soft moan. He glanced up at her, untangling his hand from her hair to slide over her curves, easing it between her thighs and touching the barely clad flesh in between. She quivered at his touch, making him smile before nipping at her gently.

Her nails grazed over his skin, her back arching again before falling straight once more. His fingers began to work slowly over the fabric, wanting her ready before starting anything. She whimpered, beginning to squirm even more the more he worked and the harder he pressed. "W-wait…" She moaned quietly, staring up at the ceiling as she drove her head back into the pillow lightly before letting up again, her breath hitching. His fingers hesitated, but continued, deciding to ignore her request. He leaned up, kissing her throat again, his free hand sliding into her own, pressing it down against the sheets. He moved the fabric of her panties aside, running his fingertips over the smooth flesh he found bneneath, smirking at how slick it had already become.

"Poor, Hotaru-chan…" He murred, biting softly at her throat and beginning to suck lightly. His fingers slid into her, causing her to let out a quiet cry, her eyes widening at the sensation almost forgotten. It HAD been a long time since someone had touched her…she hadn't realized. Her back arched again, her breasts pressing against the strength of his chest as he drew her knee up around him again. She could feel his length hardening against her thigh, his teeth grazing her throat, nipping and biting at just the right times. She gasped, moaning quietly before turning away from him, her hand on his back still, tracing muscles. His fingers paused and he smiled, "Would you like something better, Hotaru-chan?" Itachi murred quietly, hooking his fingers into the rim of her panties and beginning to pull. He nuzzled her ear, biting its shell softly, kissing the skin he found beneath it, listening to her almost purr in response. This was going to be easier than he thought.

Hotaru closed her eyes, breathing softly as she gripped down on his hand, smiling lightly. She had forgotten what it felt like to be held, how warm and safe it felt to have His arms wrapped around her. She had forgotten how she loved to trace each muscle on His back as it moved, and run her nails over the scars that He so patiently let her feel. Matter of fact He had a scar right here on His lower back, from a kunai slash…Hotaru frowned, unable to feel anything but soft skin. She leaned up slightly, trying to look at His back and see where the scar had gotten to. Itachi pushed her down again, laughing softly as he looked at her and she stared at him in confusion. "Hotaru, what are you doing?" His voice was the same clam and patient voice she knew and loved, but it wasn't Sasuke. It was Itachi! Oh gods, she was sleeping with the enemy! Wasn't this some kind of treason?

Hotaru cried out loudly, jerking her hand away from his own and sitting up, knocking the stunned Itachi off of her as she scrambled out of the bed, tugging her panties straight as she did. He stared at her with confused eyes, watching her struggling to hold her shirt closed over her breasts again. "I-I'm sorry, Itachi! I'm so sorry!" She shook her head, a tear rolling down her cheek as she looked around with a panic stricken face. "Gods, what have I done?" She cried out again, running to the door and jerking it open, bolting out on quiet feet.

Itachi groaned and rest a hand on his drawn up knee, leaning against his arm once more. After a moment he opened his eyes, looking over at the still heavily sleeping Kisame and shaking his head, then looking down at his covered lap, still able to see the wasted fruit of his efforts. Gods, sometimes he hated being a guy. He got up, sliding pants on and walking out of the door, tying the drawstring at his waist as he did. He knew he was the last person she needed to see right now, but he was also the only person that knew she was up and panicked; and he needed to make sure she didn't hate him so he could try again later.


	11. Blessing or a Curse?

_~~**~~My only thing about this is exactly what I said for the last chapter, Itachi is a little-ok, maybe alot-OC...He wouldn't usually be so kind and forgiving and though he himself questions his own actions, I still feel it's too OC for him. But, I decided not to go back and change it, to keep the original story in tact.~~**~~_

"blessing or a curse"

Itachi walked into the kitchen to find it empty. He frowned, glancing at the back door and walking over to it. He slid it open, hearing her sniffles when he did. Looking down he saw her hiding in the darkness of the shadows against one of the walls to the walkway, avoiding the lights of the hanging lanterns they always left out for Zetsu. He knelt down beside her, seeing her knee drawn up and her hand still clutching her shirt together, her hands still too shaky to button it back herself. She was crying and shaking her head slowly, murmuring to herself.

He sighed and reached out, touching her shoulder lightly, startling her into crying out again. She jerked her head over towards him, skittering backwards when she saw him. "Itachi, I'm sorry! I shouldn't have come in there at all, I know! I'm sorry! Just please, please go away." She shook her head, leaning against her arm and closing her eyes, her body rocking with a violent tremor. Itachi rose to his feet, looking down at her with his usual empty face and eyes.

"Hotaru, tonight as a whole, was simply a mistake. It's understandable." He shrugged casually, but she shook her head, covering her eyes with her hand.

"Don't you know that if He finds out He'll probably kill me? I slept with the enemy! I slept with the one person in the world I should never have even come into contact with!" She yelped, looking up at him with watery eyes.

He studied her for a moment, unsure of what to say to this. "Technically we didn't sleep together. And, you don't have to tell anyone about this." He commented, kneeling in front of her again, draping his arms over his knees comfortably. She paused, panting softly, failing to remember to hold her shirt closed; this wasn't helping his situation from earlier.

"Y-you're right…it's not lying if He never asks about it…A-and who's to say I'll ever se-" She stopped that thought dead in its tracks, shaking her head and putting her hand over her mouth. Itachi gave a light smile, offering her his hand and standing up again.

"You're right; it's not lying if he never asks about it." He suggested and she looked up at him again, then at his hand.

For a moment she didn't do anything. Then she slowly reached out and took his hand. He clasped his around hers and pulled her to her feet, touching her cheek slowly again, brushing hair out of her eyes and wiping the tears off her face. She bowed her head, looking away from the eyes that brought her so much pain to see. Her hands rested lightly on his bare chest, fingers twitching slightly in effort not to shake anymore. "Try not to worry about it, Hotaru-chan. You already worry about enough things." He mumbled, stepping back a little before bending over, reaching out and beginning to button her shirt back up for her.

She watched him with sleepy and studious eyes. It impressed and confused her how he was acting right now. She wasn't really sure what was going on at the moment, just that she didn't really mind it all. When he finished he smiled gently again, taking her hand and leading her back into the house, shutting the door behind them. He led her towards his bedroom again, standing in the doorway for a moment, then glancing to her. "Do you want to sleep on the floor still?" She thought about it, looking at the immaculate floor at his bedside, then looking at his bed. She turned to him.

"Promise to keep the pants on and your hands to yourself?" She tilted her head with a small smile. He laughed quietly, then nodded.

"I promise. Come on, you first."

Itachi had never been this gentle with anything in his entire life before. He had never spoken so quietly or so easily to anything before either. He watched her crawl into bed, her cute little backside peeking out from beneath the long shirt she wore before she turned and sat down, holding the covers up for him as he crawled in also. He lay down and she lay down beside him, resting her head on one of his arms and placing a hand on his stomach. "I thought you said hands to ourselves?" He smirked at her and she glanced up at him with drowsy eyes that were content and safe suddenly.

"I said YOU keep YOUR hands to YOURSELF." She murmured, already drifting into sleep. He chuckled quietly again, tugging the covers up to her shoulders and staring up at the ceiling as he listened to her breathing even out, a sign she had fallen asleep. He had never even treated Sasuke so kindly; so what had gotten into him so suddenly at the sight of her tears?

As he drifted he calmed his mind down by telling himself that no one had seen him act in such a way, so he was still safe, as long as he never acted like this again. He rolled his head to the side, opening his eyes when the soft scent of vanilla and warm sugar greeted his nose. He glanced down at the sleeping Hotaru, sighing lightly before reaching over and pushing hair out of her eyes, tucking it gently behind her ear. She whimpered.

"Sasuke…" As the word left her lips he closed his eyes, resting his fingers over her forehead softly. He looked back up at the ceiling, wondering if there was ever a time that boy didn't have a hold on her mind. He supposed it was a good thing; something he could work with. If he just got her to think about Sasuke the whole time, just said things to her that he would say, not let her look at his face the whole time; he could get what he needed to be done, done. Yet, every time his mind tried to process that track of thought, that same strange piece of him reared its head and cried out.

"Mmmm…Hey, Itachi…?" He flinched slightly at the sound of her voice, looking down at her again, one of his arms now behind his head, the other resting on his chest. She nuzzled against his chest too, draping a leg over his own, sliding her free hand beneath the pillow they shared. "Thanks for not being a little bitch…" She smiled and he couldn't help but want to laugh; instead he gave a snort, trying to look like he didn't care. She hummed softly again, nuzzling her cheek against his solid chest once more, her fingers flexing over his hip, just above the rim of his pants.

"I really always thought you were a horrible person…You were like the boogie man to me for a long time…" He lifted his brows, looking down at her again, watching her continue to smile with her eyes closed as she spilt to him. "I'm glad you're not. I think…" She yawned, her voice softening, "Think you're just like Gaara and Zetsu…You're just tortured and lost on the inside…" she mumbled, drifting into sleep once more. It took a long time for her words to settle into him. And it took an even longer time for him to respond.

"I don't really know, Hotaru…I don't really know." Lifting his arm from behind his head he slowly went to put it around her, hesitating once again, wondering if this meant he was weakening in some form.

He barely rest his arm around her, like he was afraid of the touch of their skin. She smiled and reached up, taking hold of his hand as it rest over her shoulder, making his eyes jolt back down to her again, seeing that she had simply done it in her sleep. He figured she was just happy to have someone hold her again. To have someone of the other sex remind her that she was still alive and still attractive. He closed his eyes, turning his head away from her comfortably, settling beneath the covers and relaxing his body for the first time in a long time.

Itachi fell asleep to thoughts of the old days. Thoughts of growing up. Of seeing the clan again. Of interacting with them all. And for some reason, he saw a little girl running around, playing with a dog that he had never seen before. '_He watched her speak and laugh with the much younger and much more innocent Sasuke, watched the mysterious anubu Kakashi wander through and pick her up, laughing and spinning with her before carrying her through a gate he never remembered seeing before tonight._

_A man greeted Kakashi with a cuff to the shoulder, taking the girl from his arms and rubbing noses with her as she handed him flowers she had put into a pocket on her dress. Crushed and wilted the man took them and pressed them to his chest, Itachi leaning around the door to the gateway as he listened to the man exclaim dramatically that they were the most beautiful flowers he had ever seen._

_A woman came out of the house, carrying a baby in her arms and bouncing it softly, her kimono rippling in the soft breeze that rustled the cherry tree in their yard. Kakashi kissed the baby's cheek, hugging the woman in a friendly manner as they all began talking, then started inside. The woman turned, starting to slide the door shut, her eyes falling on Itachi's. He gasped, remembering her face suddenly, the memories pouring back to him._

_He remembered stalking into their kitchen, the baby now a toddler, waddling up to him laughing for her daddy, confusing him for the man. He had picked the child up, motioning for her to be quiet, then walked into the kitchen and waited to be noticed. The woman had turned to face him with a smile, then screamed. She dropped the bowl she was holding. The toddler began to cry and scream for its mother. Itachi let it go, watching it run to the woman who held it close, begging to know what he wanted from them. He was already smattered in blood, matter of fact it was dripping off of him onto their wood flooring. He stepped forward, tracking bloody foot prints into the clean kitchen before lifting his katana. Itachi remembered her screams. He remembered the child's sobs. He remembered walking away from the burning home._

_It had all been lost to him…All of it. Would there ever be forgiveness for what he had done? For what he had done to Her? Looking down at his feet as he walked out of the gate he saw the father run through, running past him in slow motion and into the charred remains of what had once been a beautiful house. Itachi was in slow motion too and no one seemed to be able to see him. He turned, looking down when he felt the, slightly older, little girl pass through him; looking around slowly, like she couldn't understand what she was seeing._

_He watched her go into the house, falling through and hurting her left foot on the, now weakened, walkway. Then he watched her come out, face scrunched with incomprehendable childish anguish. The black cloak of an anbu suddenly whirled up the walkway, rushing up the steps to engulf her. Kakashi ripped off his mask, throwing it to the ground and hugging the girl close, as if she were his own child. She sobbed and cried out as other anbus led her screaming father out of the house. Itachi stood frozen, still gripping down on the sword that he had just slaughtered the family with._

_Tilting his head he saw the little girl look over Kakashi's shoulder at him, her eyes piercing straight through his own as her hands gripped down on Kakashi's clothing, her lips buried in the fabric of his shirt to silence them. He shook his head slowly, trying to back away and leave the eyes he had never had to confront before. Trying to run away from what he did. But, he only stumbled, falling into the hanging remains of the once sturdy and safe gate door. The little girl lifted her head, still staring at him with livid green eyes, pursing her lips against him. Then she screamed.'_


	12. The Forgotten

_~~**~~Alright, so, here we get to see one of Itachi's infamous "fits", as Hotaru likes to call them. He goes through these periodically throughout the story and the best I can give as to a reason of why, is because being around Hotaru is giving him feelings again. Now, I know he always had a softer/sensitive/chewy nougaty center in the comics/anime and blah blah blah. Well, he has that side in this story, but I apparently made it to where he had buried it so far within himself that now that it's rearing its head and trying to get him to at least CARE for Hotaru, he's freaking out. So, he goes out of his mind for little episodes. In most of these episodes Hotaru winds up getting the brunt of it and winds up getting her ass handed to her by him. So, again, it might be a little OC, but I could do nothing to change it without altering the whole original story.~~**~~_

"confronting the forgotten"

Itachi cried out, sitting up bolt right, one hand up and covering his ears. His eyes widened as he looked around the room in a panic, knowing that it was all just a dream, that he was safe and far away from that part of his life now. Soon he would be made to atone for that part of his life. That atonement would be his saving grace. He furrowed his brow, still panting as his rattled mind tried to get a hold on what was going on. His lips turned into a frown as he slowly pulled his hands in front of himself, thinking they felt odd. That was when he felt the lump of bile rise in the back of his throat, almost gagging him. His hands glowered at him in the darkness as he stared in wide eyed horror. They were covered in blood again. The blood had seeped through the gloves he wore that day and it had stained his hands. Now, his hands were dripping in it again. He could barely see patches of his own flesh through it all. It was so thick...There was so much of it...The blood of all those innocents...He shook his head, lips parted to cry out again, but the lump choked any noise thought of.

Hotaru jolted up at the sound of his angry cry. She hit her hand on the wall, having been going to strike away whatever was attacking them. When she whimpered and opened her eyes, hiding her pained hand in front of her breast, she saw Itachi shivering next to her. He was staring at his hands with horror and utter pain written all over his face. His body glistened in the darkness f the room, a thin coating of perspiration having formed over it. She frowned, reaching out for him slowly, touching his bare shoulder with light fingertips. "Itachi...what's wrong?" She murmured, a little afraid to ask. She kept lancing down at his hands, trying to see what he saw, but unable to see anything.

Itachi spun on her, staring hard at her through his sharingon. He began to look at her with th same look, slowly shaking his head as his breath came faster and faster. He was starting to freak out, she could tell that much. "I-Iatchi, what's wrong? What happened?" She rest her hand on his shoulder still, leaning a little loser, concern written all over her face. "Did you have a bad dream...? Are you okay? Itachi, talk to me." She shook him lightly, beginning to get even more worried. He just kept staring at her with horrified eyes, starting to slowly shake his head as he leaned back from her. He moved his mouth, but words weren't coming out. She knew that look, "Itachi, you have to snap out of it. Whatever it is, it was a dream, you're fine now." She sat up on her knees, leaning closer to him for every inch he moved back from her.

Itachi stared in horror, seeing Hotaru morph into the woman he took to be her mother. The woman that had stared at him from the doorway, like she knew he was there, watching her and her family. The woman that had held the child to her breast, screaming for him to spare her life for the sake of her daughters. The woman he had left dripping blood onto her own floor as she held her child in her arms still, each looking as though they were asleep; their throats slit to the point of decapitation. Now, she stared at him with concern in her eyes, blood dripping from her hair and face. The hand she touched him with was cold and sticky with it, smearing on his shoulder. She kept speaking to him, but he could hear her over the blood that was rushing in his ears. Finally, he couldn't handle it any longer. He closed his eyes, forcing a scream around the lump that burned in his throat. Where were these forgotten corpses coming from? Why were they haunting him now?

Hotaru jumped back as he screamed, shaking his head still, gripping at his ears again. Kisame shot awake, sitting upright in the bed and looking around, reaching for Samehade as it propped against the wall behind him. When he saw Itachi next to Hotaru, screaming, he frowned, getting out of the bed and hurrying over. Hotaru cowered in the corner of the mattress, knowing that when a an got to that pitch in voice, there was something horribly wrong. Kisame grabbed Itachi's shoulders, shaking him violently to make him stop. He did, eyes opening and looking around frantically once more. They landed on Kisame and for a moment he was startled and scared, griping down on the big hands that had hold f him, readying to flee if he could. Then he froze, "Itachi, what the fuck is wrong?" Kisame barked at him, shaking him once more. He had never seen the boy like this.

Itachi shook his head, "I can't stop seeing them! They're everywhere suddenly! Make them stop! Go back to your graves, dammit!" He cried out again, closing his eyes and shaking his head with a terror and panic Kisame didn't know of him.

Kisame reached out and slapped him; hard. He finally silenced, taking only to shivering in the bigger man's grasp. He opened his mouth, letting out a long and broken breath, as though he had been holding it in. Staring at the floor and their feet, Itachi took to panting once more, watching the sweat drip off of his forehead and shoulders and onto the carpet. "All of them...I kept seeing all of them. I saw Her this time. I saw Her family. I never remembered...They had blended in with the rest of them by that time...I never remembered..." He mumbled, trying to get everything out into the air, to clear his mind and heart of the toxins of what he had done.

Kisame frowned, "Whose? Her's?" He looked up and over Itachi, towards Hotaru, who whimpered in the corner, unable to hear Itachi except for mumbles and mutterings. Itachi's body tensed at the words and his breath stopped once more. Slowly, he sat up and turned, looking at Hotaru with stunned eyes that screamed to Hotaru that she shouldn't be there. Hotaru whimpered again, cowering into a little ball once more, pressing into the wall in desperation to sink into it. He had forgotten she was there for real. "I-Itachi...P-please talk to me..." He didn't reply, just kept staring at her like she was bleeding from the ears.

Kisame let go of him, tilting his head as he watched, looking like a bare chested referee. When he didn't seem upset at her any more, just confused and scared, she sat up, reaching out for him with a timid hand. "Tell me what you dreamed...I can help you, I promise. I'm use to night terrors." She murmured, forcing a small smile, leaning on her hand as she reached for him with the other. The concern on her face, the caring and love in her eyes; he winced and shook his head again.

"Why aren't you upset at me?" He barked, causing her to freze in her tracks and Kisame to look down at him in unexpected surprise.

"Wh-what do you mean? How can I be upset at you for having a bad dream?" She frowned, still unaware of what he had seen when he had looked at her. Itachi glared at his hands, gritting his teeth and straining not to strike her for being so stupid.

"I fucking killed your family!" He shouted as loud as he could, causing her to stare at him with wide eyes of her own. She remained frozen on all fours, still reaching for him. Slowly, her hand began to quiver, then she slowly drew it back in, pulling back to sit on her legs in a kneel. She looked down, biting her lower lip to keep it from trembling too hard.

"I know you did...But, that was a long time ago..." She mumbled, feeling that same stinging lump now rising in her own throat. She closed her eyes, forcing herself to keep composure. She had new things to worry about now, knew people to fret over and be haunted by...She had come to terms with her parents' deaths, even though she had yet to avenge them for it. Itachi jerked his head towards her, gaze hardening against her again, though she still refused to meet it.

"You don't think about it anymore, do you?" He glared, his hands curled into what looked like claws as they sat on his legs. Every muscle in his body was tensed and strained, but she still refused to look at him. She kept her head turned to the side, that same pained, yet forced composed look on her face.

"No, I-I don't...I feel like they wouldn't want me to stay in the past...when I have so many things, of my own, to set right in the present." She curled her hands into fists on her thighs, closing her eyes once more. He grinned maliciously at her.

"Do you want to know what I dreamed? DO you?" He barked at her again, making her startle to life once more. He waited for a moment, then shook her head slowly. He ignored her and spoke anyways. "I saw it again. ALL of it. I dream it ALL THE TIME." His voice had calmed slightly, but still had an undertone of madness to it that she had never heard before. She turned and looked at him with pained eyes, once again concern for him sitting right there and out in the open. This infuriated him once more; unbeknownst to her.

"Only this time, I killed YOUR family. I never thought about them, in specific, until tonight. They were NOTHING to me, just another set of people to create the masses I slaughtered. But, I remembered it ALL tonight." He hissed at her, watching the teas well into her eyes as she clenched her fists tighter, clutching at her shirt hem now. Kisame shifted from foot to foot, frowning as he looked between them, wondering if he should risk stepping in. "I slaughtered your mother and baby sister again. I watched your mom scream and beg for her life and her daughter's. I listened to your little sister screaming for her father, who never came to her rescue. And then, I cut them. I slit their throats to silence their incessant screaming. And I left them. Left them to drown in their own blood, their eyes wide with the horror of death, mouths parted forever in pathetic screeches for help. And, I set fire to your house again. I KILLED them, Hotaru! I slaughtered your family like a farmer would slaughter his pigs!" He was almost screaming at her again, clutching at the air like it was some sort of living thing to hold onto.

She was sobbing now, shaking her head and holding a fist in front of her mouth, desperately trying to hide her trembling lips. Kisame shook his head too, looking down at Itachi with disgust, but unable to stop from feeling a new found respect for him. "Stop it! Stop saying that! Just STOP!" Hotaru screamed, slamming her fist against her thigh as she did. Itachi laughed manically.

"Now, how can you look at me with such sickening, innocent concern? How can you CARE about the person who killed your FAMILY? Who drove your father to take his own LIFE?" HOW?" He shouted at her, turning to face her fully now, watching the tremors of agony rock through her body.

"Itachi, I think that's enough...You need to calm down." Kisame reached for him, but Itachi swatted his thick hand away without looking, refusing to remove the insane crimson glower from Hotaru's sobs. Kisame snorted and reached out for him again, but Hotaru spoke first, pausing him.

"STOP!" She cried out again, rocking back and forth slowly with her tears, her voice and breath hitching and catching on one another. She sniffled, wiping her nose with the back of her hand and looking up at Itachi, glaring back at him with narrowed eyes. "I've gotten OVER that! I don't LIVE in the past anymore! You shouldn't either! I've SEEN what the blood lust for revenge DOES to someone! My parents and I have come to terms and they wish me to move on as well! YOU CAN'T LIVE IF YOU KEEP TORTURING YOURSELF!" She screamed again, slamming her fist on her thigh over and over once more, with every point she made, beginning to leave a bruise. She was too numb with emotion to feel it. She shook her head a second time, slinging salt water everywhere as she did.

"I haven't forgiven you. I'll NEVER be able to do that. But, I can still CARE about you. You're still a PERSON and I KNOW you feel regret for what you did to them. To ALL of them. I KNOW you do." She growled now, as if daring him to argue with her, watching him study her like a tiger studying prey that has suddenly decided to fight back. "I can still take CARE of you though, because you're a human BEING, who needs love and care just like ANYONE else! Just accept the fucking help!" She slammed her fist again, finally stopping, gasping for air as if her speech had just taken everything out of her.

Itachi shook a little all over, his eyes narrowing at her as he slumped a little, his hands planted firmly on the bed, his torso twisted to stare at her. She frowned, trying to gauge his reaction, not understanding what was going on. Kisame frowned too, thinking he looked ore animalistic than he had ever seen him. Then it happened. It was too fast for anyone to see.

Itachi lurched forward, pouncing fully onto the bed like the animal he had been mimicking in stance. He grabbed Hotaru by the throat, slamming her head into the wall and snarling in her face, baring his teeth at her. She gasped for air, her eyes rolling into the back of her head briefly with the force of the trike, arms hanging limply at her side. There was no defending herself against something she hadn't even seen coming.

"My little brother was right to leave you...You'd sleep with anything, even your parents' killer, just for a fuck." He snarled with a predatory laugh, on his knees in front of her. She blinked slowly, feeling her head being pressed farther and farther into the wall, tilting backwards higher and higher. Finally, she reached up and took hold of his wrist lightly, for some reason having no strength to even claw at him.

"I-I...I ca-care because I now you...ne-need it...B-because...no one else wi-will...!" She gasped, tears hitting his hand as they spilt down her face. His eyes hardened against her again and he slammed her head into the wall once more, his free hand reaching up to punch the wall near her head, going through it.

"Stop caring! Stop being so fucking nice! Stop giving me FEELINGS!" He shouted in her face, their noses brushing together every time he lifted her head before slamming it into the wall again, striking her every time he shouted the word "stop"; her ears were starting to ring. Blood began to smear on the wall behind her head; he jerked his hand out of the wall, rising it to strike her instead, seeking to break the face that looked at him with such concern when it had no right to.

His hand was caught in a tight grasp. He jerked his head around, glaring up at Kisame, who was glowering down at him. "That's ENOUGH, Itachi." He snarled, baring every serrated fang within his mouth. Itachi glared back, trying to rip his hand out of Kisame's, but unable to move. Kisame reached out and grabbed him by the arms, jerking them behind his back and pulling them up, causing him to bow forward with a cry of pain. "I don't know WHAT the HELL has gotten into you, but it needs to stop. Now." Kisame growled, dragging him off the bed and hurling him to the floor, jerking his arms upwards one more time before releasing them.

Itachi lay on the floor panting, wincing fromt he pain racking his body, his arms having almost been broken. He couldn't move them, let alone get up off the floor. Coughing he looked up at Kisame with softened eyes, sweat running down the bridge of his nose and from his forehead into his eyes, making him wince with the burn. Kisame stood over hi, waiting to catch him if he attempted to get up again, waiting to break his arms this time. "S-sorry...So sorry..." Itachi mumbled, almost incoherently, before dropping his face into the carpet and passing out.

Kisame waited a moment, looking to see if he was playing possum, then he turned and looked at the bed. Hotary lay like a crumpled porcelain doll against the wall, her chin dropped against her chest, arms lying askew at her sides. Her knees were pressed together, sending her feet out in opposite directions oddly. She was unconscious too, blood matting the hair to the back of her head. It streaked down the wall, a big circle of it where her head had been, dragging into a streak to where her head slumped forward now. There was also the hole near the circle of blood, to contend with. Kisame sighed heavily and scrubbed a tired hand down his face; what a mess. And all because of a stupid bad dream.


	13. Walking in the Woods

_~~**~~Right, so, this is where Itachi has another episode. And, again, Hotaru gets the brunt of it and winds up getting hurt. Now, there are time lapses in this one, because I was too lazy and it was already too long for me to add in all the filler it needed. Again, though Itachi is a little more his bitter self, he's still a little OC; but, that's only because his "episodes" are so OC lol So, forgive the time lapses and forgive the slight OCness~~**~~_

"Walking in the Woods"

_"I wish there could've been…some way for me to tell you beforehand. Some way for me to let you know, before the pieces fell into the places that they did. I wish there had been some way…for me to make you understand, I was going to tear you apart from the inside out."_

"Itachi! Itachi, this isn't funny, where are you?" Hotaru looked around in some concern, hugging her cloak around herself as she paused in her walk. The girls had finally been let outside…only to accompany the boys on a mission. Then, they had split up about half way. So, now, Hotaru had to freak out and worry about Nikoru, and she had to keep her own ass safe. Plus, Itachi had decided to walk ahead, and now she couldn't find his sorry ass.

She tilted her head back a little, her hat slightly too big, obscuring her vision more so than it should. She glanced around the pathway they had been following and the woods on either side of it. It was a straight pathway…she should be able to see him no matter how far ahead he got…But, he just freakin' disappeared. "Itachi, come on out! I said this isn't funny!" She sounded upset, but there was an undertone of concern and fear there too.

She took a few steps further, then paused again, looking around once more. She kept getting this feeling she was being watched. Like she was being led somewhere on purpose and was being watched over while getting there. It was why she kept talking to him. "Uchiha Itachi! This ISN'T funny! Your job is to WATCH me, remember?" She stomped a sandal-clad foot, throwing her fist down by her side and glaring off into the trees. She only got a soft breeze's whisper through the foliage in response.

She sighed, moving forward once again, looking down at her feet as she did. "When I find you, I'm going to KILL you! Then I'm going to tell Pein when we get home and get you in all SORTS of trouble! Ha hah!" She grinned to herself, putting her hand on her hip and pausing to pose. Then she moved forward once more, feeling a little stupid; especially if he was watching her.

Hotaru got to a clearing with a large tree in the middle of it. She glanced off of the path, seeing the big tree with no others around it for a ways, wondering why all of the other trees had decided not to play with this big granddaddy. She glanced around for Itachi, put one foot off the path, thought about it, glanced around again, then sighed. "Hey, Itachi, I'm leaving the path! I'm running away from you! I'm going back to Konoha to tell them all about you and the Akatsuki's hide out!" She grinned, figuring no matter where he was THAT would pull him out of hiding. And she ran too.

She got close to the tree when something tripped her. "Ahah!" She cackled, touching the ground with her hand before flipping, righting herself and letting her cloak land around her like a parachute. She grinned, backing up slowly, not realizing the tree was as close behind her as it was. She had thought Itachi had tripped her, but there was no one around.

She looked above her and around her, her fingers itching to grab a kunai and slit something's throat. But, nothing ever came. So, she had tripped herself or something natural had tripped her. She looked down, usually rocks didn't trip her, she was usually pretty good about catching things like where to step. There was a raised root system to this tree, but she highly doubted THAT was what got her.

Feet landed in front of her suddenly, causing her to cry out and jump back a step, almost knocking her onto her ass. She looked up, seeing Itachi staring at her from inside of his big cloak. "Oh for the love of the GODS! Where did YOU come from?" She threw her hands up in the air, then shook her head and looked down, touching her forehead lightly like she had just found a child she had been looking for all day. "I've been worried sick about you! Did you know that? I mean, for all I know, the enemy could've gotten you! What the HELL, Itachi? What the HELL?" She jabbed a finger in his chest, narrowing her eyes at him as she spoke. He failed to answer, failed to move for that matter.

"There is no enemy for a while longer, we're still safe." He pointed out to her dully and she stared in disbelief at him. After ALL of that, THAT was what he had to say to her? She growled deeply, closing her eyes again in frustration. Itachi smirked when she wasn't looking, watching her calm herself down the same way he did…she was beginning to pick up his traits. She jammed a gloved finger at him again, her big sleeve falling back to her elbow and revealing the white cloth gauntlet pulled over the glove. He looked down at her thin arm and nimble finger, then looked back at her angry face.

"THAT'S what you have to say to me? You LEFT me when you were supposed to be WATCHING me and all you have to tell me is that we're still safe?" She threw her hands up in the air, getting ready to storm around him. But, he lashed out, catching her by the arms and throwing her back into the tree.

Hotaru let out a guttural gasp, stars dancing in front of her eyes before her vision cleared and slowly came back to her.

Had she just been attacked? Had someone caught them off guard? She shook her head slowly, feeling her hands pinned by stronger hands. Something was wrong with that theory though…If they had been attacked Itachi would've saved her by now, and he would be shouting at her to snap out of it and fight like he knew she could. Or was that Sasuke? They were beginning to run together any more.

Her vision faded in again and she came face to face with Itachi's bright red eyes. He was staring at her mouth, like he had never seen red lipstick before. "Itachi, what the fuck are you doing?" She sighed heavily, shaking her head and going to lean up, wanting to get away from him. He was too close for comfort. He KNEW how she felt about all of that. His eyes flitted back to her own, mischief hiding in the corners of his lips. She looked at him again, "Itachi, lemme go. This isn't very funny either." She muttered, keeping casual about the whole situation.

His eyes never left hers and his face never gained any emotion. He leaned closer, his forehead brushing lightly against her own as his lips grazed over the side of her mouth. Now she couldn't act casual anymore. Her heart was beating too fast, the blood ringing in her ears, and her body was suddenly becoming too hot inside the cloak. She turned her face from his, though his remained in place, his mouth now hovering too close to her neck. He smiled ever so lightly, his fingers flexing on her wrists as they carefully held her back against the tree.

"Itachi…really…I don't know what's gotten into you today, but it's not funny. Let me go." Her voice had gotten considerably quieter and every time his eyes flicked to her own she looked down at the ground passively. He leaned back again, allowing her to let out a soft breath of relief. She went to move again, and he let her shift, but then he pressed her into the tree again. She looked back to him with pained eyes, confusion knitting her brows together. "Hey, I said lemme go!" This time her voice was demanding and he smirked fully.

"THERE you are." He mocked and she shook her head in confusion.

"What're you talking about; I've been here the whole time dammit! I can't move, remember?" She jerked her hands against him, wincing at the slight pain smarting at her from her wrists as she did. He shook bangs out of his eyes, snorting softly.

"No, you went into Sasuke-mode. I don't want you to do that with me." This time she arced a brow at him, looking at him incredulously.

"What in the HELL are YOU talking about? And besides, how do YOU know how I act around SASUKE of all people?" She took her turn to snort, only louder, then looked away from him in upset. He failed to change his expression, but shrugged lightly at her.

"You get submissive when you're around him…I know, because every time you talk about him you get that way too." He leaned closer again and she tried to move her face farther away, turning it as far to the side as it would go. So, he settled with hovering over her throat once more. "-I- don't like that, I'm not like my little brother, I don't have an inferiority complex." He laughed quietly as he felt her tense beneath his grasp at his insult. "I LIKE it when you fight with me." He murred, kissing the flesh of her throat softly before pulling back again. Hotaru felt her insides melt at that pale kiss, but kept her anger towards him at the front of her mind. As soon as he pulled back she spun her head to face him again.

"No, you don't have an inferiority complex, Itachi." She commented quietly, her voice dropping to a deadly low. "You didn't have to suffer through your older brother killing your family and clan in front of you, then telling you that you'd never be strong enough to defeat him and that you were weak and a fool and that was why you couldn't save your parents-NOT BECAUSE YOU WERE SIX YEARS OLD OR ANYTHING!" She barked loudly, scaring a few birds out of the tree above them; but neither of them paid any mind to their chatter.

They stared each other down for a long, tense moment, she glowering and he smiling smugly. "You just have a MASSIVE ego complex. And I'm pretty sure it's all in compensation for something you can't fix with any jutsu, right?" Here she arched a brow and grinned evilly at him. His eyes narrowed, hardening viciously at her and immediately Hotaru heard that little voice in the back of her head-that sounded suspiciously a lot like Usagi-scream that she had done wrong now.

Before she knew what was happening he jerked to the side, hurling her to the ground by one of her wrists. She braced herself for the fall, the cloak protecting her knees and her gloves protecting her hands, but the sting still jolting through her body. Her teeth rattled in her skull when she hit the ground on all fours, his hand never releasing her one wrist, holding that arm behind her back and above her painfully. She winced, keeping her eyes closed and crying out quietly, afraid to shout in pain.

He reached down with his free hand, grabbing the back of her cloak and tearing at it, ripping it from her body with a painful pull. Her body pulled back towards him as the fastened cloak threatened not to give way and choke her, but the buttons finally snapped and it whipped off of her in a flutter of black and red cloth. He released her hand long enough to pull the cloak off, but had grabbed it before it could even fall to the ground beside her again.

Now she glanced over her shoulder at him with scared and hurt eyes, whimpering as her body began to shake. He only continued to stare at her, his eyes hardened to the point of a death glare. Now she rest on her knees in front of him, her little kimono clinging desperately to her backside, but so shortened anyways that he could see the electric blue of her panties already. The garters on her thighs pressed deeply into the flesh, sensually showing him how thick and toned they were. He leaned down, careful to keep her arm straight in the air so as not to break it.

"Now then, would you like me to let you find out for yourself how large what you speak of really is?" He hissed at her and she quickly shook her head with a jingle of little silver bells. She had his gifted hair ornaments in today. Glancing at them made him feel guilty for what he was doing, but looking down at the low dip of her back and rounded curve of her backside made him think otherwise. He was going to get what he wanted one way or another anyways. Besides, she had asked for this.

"What's wrong, Hotaru-chan? Suddenly you seem scared." He smirked evilly at her, her eyes having dropped to the ground once again as she fought back tears from the pain shooting through her arm. "If it's as small as you say it is, then what would it matter to you? There wouldn't be anything to hurt you, right?" He laughed quietly and mockingly as she shook her head slowly again.

"Just lemme go, Itachi. I'm sorry, I got upset. I shouldn't have said what I said." She looked over her shoulder at him again with pleading eyes. "Please just let go, you're hurting me." She flexed her fingers in the air and he could feel the muscle tendons in her arm move with them he was gripping her so hard. He grinned maliciously at her.

"But, I'm not a threat, remember? I just have a massive ego complex, so how can I be hurting you?" He laughed again as she started to get angry once more. This was what he wanted. He didn't want her to beg, he wanted her to fight. If she could get away, he would let her run back to the house and leave her be for the next few days; if she could get away.

Hotaru narrowed her eyes at him slightly, beginning to do just what he wanted her to; he wondered if she knew she was making him happier the angrier she got. "Itachi, seriously! You've taught me a lesson, okay? Now let go of me!" She tried to move her arm out of his grasp, but it hurt to the point of her halting and biting her lip in effort not to cry. His smirk widened.

"Oh come on, Hotaru-chan, you can get away from me. You KNOW you can. You can FIGHT, remember?" He laughed harshly at her and she snapped her eyes over her shoulder at him.

"Oh shut up! The only reason you're acting so high and mighty is because I'm beneath you. If you'd let me go I'd bet money you wouldn't be laughing so meanly." She snapped and he let his glare harden on her again. He jerked her arm to the side quickly, causing her to cry to ring throughout the woods. Suddenly she was on her back and staring up at a quickly moving and dancing sky.

She blinked, wincing as Itachi leaned over her, his knee pressed hard between her legs as he pinned her arms above her head. "No, NOW you're beneath me, Hotaru-chan. And, funny thing is, I'm laughing either way." He shrugged, his look dead, but an undertone of anger running through it. She coughed lightly, turning her head to the side to avoid the tips of their noses brushing together.

"Itachi…get off me. I'll tell you one more time, incase you're going deaf as well as blind." She looked back to him, narrowing her eyes at him once more. "Get. Off." She spat the words out, venom dripping from them as they hit the humid air between them. He smiled smugly at her.

"Make me." This reminded her of Naruto and made her want to giggle, but at the same time kick him across the field. She could've done it with Naruto too, so she began to wonder if she could do it with him. She shifted her legs slightly, dragging her feet through the dirt as she realized he was only sitting over one of her legs. She couldn't push him off with just one leg pivoted beneath him, she needed both.

Huffing she turned her head to the side again, glaring at the dirt around them as it moved with each breath she took. Itachi laughed quietly, "Here I'll give you some incentive." He moved her wrists to be held with just one of his hands, which, surprisingly, worked well. Then he grabbed hold of her chin, turning her face forcefully towards his and pressing his lips hard against her own.

Hotaru's body warmed immediately, her skin becoming too hot to touch, and her insides melting. But, anger boiled in the back of her mind too. She began to writhe beneath him, dragging her heels into the earth before trying to buck him off. Her hands squirmed in his tight grasp and her eyes widened as his tongue slid easily into her mouth. The heat of the air around them and their bodies meshed together began to moisten their skin; apparently Itachi hadn't accounted for that. She bit his tongue, causing him to pull back with a cry of surprise. This loosened his grip just enough for her to wriggle a wrist free, reaching up and grabbing at his hair.

She grabbed a fistful of silken strands and jerked his head backwards like a little bitch. He barked a cry, reaching for his hair now that he apparently didn't have control of her hands any longer. She sat up, reaching out with her now free hand and slapping him across the face for everything he had done to her, then she scrambled from beneath him. When she got to her feet she spun, letting go of his hair and bolting off towards the path again.

Itachi snarled, looking up at her and watching her dart off. She had gotten away; easier than he had expected. But, he wasn't ready to give up yet. He glared and got to his feet too, running after her and catching up with her in two or three easy strides. He reached out, grabbing the coiled rope that wrapped around her obi, tying in the back.

She jerked backwards like a dog on a leash, her reflexes and mind too frazzled to really be fighting right now. She turned in his grasp as he jerked at the rope again, managing to untie it as she turned to face him with a panicked glare. She grabbed hold of his cloak front, ripping at it until it popped open, buttons snapping every which way as it did. She released it, going to slap him again, but he caught her wrist. He began to twist and she began to scream.

The rope around her waist fell to the ground and his free hand reached out, jerking the bright blue cloth from around her waist as well, a mad grin gleaming in his eyes as it fell to the ground. She doubled over, her kimono falling lose on her form as she lashed out, kicking at his knees. He snarled in response, his knees falling from under him; but he drug her down with him. She fell to the ground as he threw her back against it again, causing her spine to arch with pain as she cried out again.

Her free hand reached out, clawing at his face and throat, but he caught hold of that one too. She had latched onto his shirt front now and wouldn't let go, no matter how hard he pulled. His shirt tore, the fishnet collar snapping easily before the cloth began to tear, then her hand was free. He slammed it into the ground above her head with her other one and both began to pant, taking the moment to breathe. "You CAN'T leave." He snapped and she turned to look at him, suddenly being reminded of Hidan the night he skinned her wrists.

"Fuck you, Uchiha Itachi!" She spat at him and he bit his lip in effort not to kill her. "Fuck you!" She shouted again, beginning to writhe and kick once more. He shook his head, wiping his face on his shoulder before looking back to her with a nasty grin.

"No, I'm going to fuck you, Uchiha Hotaru." He mocked her in a voice that made her shut up and stare in disbelief. THIS was the Itachi that had haunted her dreams when she first saw his picture at Sasuke's. THIS was the boogie-man Itachi that she had been terrified of for years.

She began to kick and scream again, managing to get one foot far enough beneath her that she almost kicked him in the groin. He moved his lower body up to avoid it, holding both her wrists in one hand once more and using his free hand to press her leg back down to the dirt, sitting hard on it again. He reached out and tore at the rope bound around her breasts, listening to the bells attached to its end snap and jingle loudly as he forced it to move so fast. "Stop it! You can't DO something like this!" She shook her head, trying to free her hands again, moving her torso beneath him as much as she could. He laughed, her kimono falling open around her and letting him see her body once more.

He looked at her face again, "Who says I can't? And what makes you think I'll listen?" She got a hand free again, once more reaching for his hair, quicker than most would be able to comprehend. He caught her wrist and slammed it to the ground again, "I can see this isn't going to work like I want it to." He snarled and she glared, feeling him release one of her hands long enough to grab her hip and flip her. She watched the world spin, then realized he wasn't holding onto her any longer.

She got to her knees, drawing one leg up to push off into a run, but something slammed hard on her back. She screeched, afraid her spine would snap with the force of the strike. Her foot slipped from beneath her, causing her to slam back to her knees with such force her teeth snapped together, sending a nasty jolt of pain through her head. She spun her head around, looking over her now bare shoulder to see Itachi grinning behind her again, holding one of her arms out and above her just like before, his other hand pressed hard on the center of her spine. "You could've KILLED me!" She screamed and he laughed.

"I WILL kill you if you don't behave!" He threatened, watching tears spill out of her eyes.

"What the fuck is WRONG with you?" She shook her head, having trouble believing this was the Itachi that had been mean, but nice to her at the same time. That had been more like a big brother than anything else…This was the Itachi that had almost slept with her, but stopped and taken care of her instead when she panicked. What was happening suddenly?

Hotaru cried out, her eyes widening as her back dipped low against her will. Itachi laughed quietly as her backside pressed against his hips and she moaned, her fingers dragging in the dirt as her other hand twisted in his grasp desperately. She had been wrong, so very, very wrong for saying he was compensating for something. There was NOTHING to compensate for. She let out another shout, wincing in something crossed between pain and pleasure. Every time he moved forward he pulled her arm back a little, almost rotating it in its socket, sending bolts of pleasure through her body and shots of pain down her arm.

"Itachi, please! It hurts!" She whimpered, turning and looking over her shoulder at him with half mast eyes. He smirked, his hips slamming against her again, making her moan. He watched her lips round out with the sound, their rich cherry color glimmering in the summer sun. His free hand was running over her back, following its curves and muscle movements that he seemed to be creating with every thrust he gave.

"I thought you liked it rough, Hotaru." The words made her close her eyes again, only this time she looked forward and let out a soft sob. Her fingers dug deep into the dirt, the soil that she was unearthing cool on her hot fingertips. Hot blood was coursing through her body, warming her flesh as her body reacted in ways she couldn't control. She didn't want to fight him anymore…she just wanted it to be over.

Itachi groaned quietly near her ear, his breath skimming over her skin and making her shiver. She turned her face from his own, dirt smeared onto her cheeks, her tears turning it into mud. "I can see why…Sasuke used you…for what he did…" Itachi's hand gripped hard on her waist as her back arched beneath him again, a gasp catching on her lips with the force of his drive.

She ignored the comment, trying to sink farther and farther into herself, but having too much trouble ignoring the pleasure shooting through her in large bolts. He didn't have to hold her down any longer, so he had flipped her to her back, admiring her face and the emotions he sent across it. Lifting one of her toned legs over his shoulder he smirked and pushed farther into her, closing his eyes in brief ecstasy before sliding out and redoing the motion.

She cried out softly, her eyes widening with a long moan. She reached out for something, coming close to catching hold of his shirt, but stopping short. Her fingers clasped at the air for a moment, but she blinked, realizing that whatever she sought to catch hold of wasn't there and would never be there. Her eyes closed again and she shook her head, crying out once more as Itachi pressed hard against her, reminding her that he was still there and was nothing to be forgotten.

Suddenly his grip tightened on her thigh and hip, she opened her eyes quickly, staring at him with fear wrenching across her face. "Itachi, don't! Not inside!" She reached out, this time aiming to grab hold of his shirt, but missing as he leaned back with a long and satisfied groan. She let out a loud cry, her body going rigid for a moment as her hand dropped to the ground and white hot heat began to course throughout her lower body.

Hotaru felt him pull away, sitting back for a moment, touching his forehead with his eyes closed; as if he was catching his breath from a quick run. She turned her head to the side again, unable to bring herself to move or sit up. Her body throbbed and ached in places that it shouldn't, and the sticky, liquid happiness that was dripping down the insides of her thighs only made her want to cry that much harder.

Itachi rose to his feet, beginning to right his clothing and put on his cloak again, a smile tucked into the corners of his lips as he did. Part of him felt utter guilt and shame for what he had just done, and the other part of him-the biggest part at the moment-was very satisfied with the events of the afternoon. He glanced down at Hotaru, seeing her lower body twisted onto its side, one leg drawn up and curled over the other, but her torso lying straight with her back flat against the ground. Her hair spilt out behind her like an exotic smelling blanket and her breasts heaved tragically slow with each breath.

For a moment he was tempted to lie down beside her and run his hands over those ample mounds, kissing her tears away and telling her it was going to be alright; but the feeling passed quickly. He had learned to kill his emotions easy enough before and he was going to have to make himself learn again; he needed to undo what little this girl had already done to him.

"S-Sasuke…" Hotaru whimpered quietly, her fingers flexing in the sand before falling still once again. Itachi felt a twinge of pain as the word filled his ears as loud as if she had screamed it. He snorted quietly with disgust, turning to hide the emotion from her.

"You still call out to him, after what you've done?" His tone was flat again and his eyes showed nothing but disdain. She closed her own eyes, allowing a small tremor to rock her body.

"It wasn't my fault! I didn't do it!" She whined, but Itachi was already beginning to walk off. He grabbed her cloak off of the ground, turning and tossing it over her groughly.

"Get up and get dressed, we need to go back." She rolled onto her side completely, not wanting to move from this spot ever again, wanting to die for the crime he had committed against her.

"I can't…" Her voice was soft and broken; she was beginning to shiver more now. Itachi huffed and walked over to her, grabbing her by the arm as she cried out again, but he merely pulled her to her feet. She looked away as he frowned at her, reaching down and grabbing the cloak again, shoving it at her, causing her to stagger back a step.

"Get dressed." She wouldn't look at him, but nodded slowly. He walked off, leaving her to fall to her knees again and bury her face in the cloak. He heard her muffled scream and closed his eyes, pausing at the edge of the path with his back turned to her. He let her get her sob and scream for a moment longer; the human part of him screaming with her.


	14. Stained Secrets

"Stained Secrets"

Everyone looked over their shoulders at the door as it opened, Itachi walking through with a rather satisfied gleam in his eyes. "Where were you? We got back an hour ago." Deidara grumbled, looking at him from his perch in a seat near the couch. Itachi shrugged.

"Fighting." It was a simple and plausible answer, that held a few meanings in his mind. Kisame arched a brow as he continued looking over his shoulder at Itachi. His shirt was torn, the fishnet hanging down to reveal the bare flesh beneath it. His normally perfectly maintained pale skin was smeared with dirt and mud, and he had scratch marks running along his face and throat. He had dirt beneath his nails and his cloak wasn't closed…meaning something had happened to it to keep it from closing.

"Never seen you that mussed up, Itachi." Kisame chuckled, noticing even his hair was down and tangled. Something inside of him churned at the sight of the boy like that, but he kpet a smile on his face. Itachi shrugged, waving a dismissive hand.

"I wanted to put effort into this one. Never mind it, I'm going to lay down." He started to walk off and Nikoru watched him go, tilting her head and wondering.

"Where's Hota-" She stopped, turning back to the door and noticing Hotaru simply standing there. Everyone glanced at her in confusion, wondering why she hadn't busted in behind Itachi and been loud and annoying, like her usual self; they had been expecting them to come in arguing about who was stronger in the fight.

Hotaru was staring intently at the carpet, like it was something terribly interesting. Her face was smeared with mud, streaked with paler tracks that looked like tear streaks. She was holding her cloak tightly closed in front of herself, hiding her body from the rest of them as she basically shrunk down inside of it. Her hair ornaments were askew and cockeyed, basically hanging on by threads. Her normally perfectly kempt, full bodied curls and waves were tangled and ratty, frizzed and mussed. The hand they could see had a big scuff mark on the back of it, turning red from the slowly beading blood. One of her nails was broken and the arm was covered in grime and scratches as it disappeared into the blackness of the cloak.

Nikoru got up, running over to her and beaming brightly. "Hotaru-chan! I'm so glad you're back, did you kick some hardcore ass?" She laughed loudly, going to throw her arms around Hotaru's neck. Hotaru yelped loudly, reaching up to protect her face and shrinking away from Nikoru. All the boys stared in surprise as Nikoru froze, slowly putting her arms back to her side and staring hard at Hotaru. The cloak had fallen to the ground when Hotaru had released it, revealing what she was hiding beneath.

The rest of her skin was dirty and scratched too, like she had been drug across the dirt path or something. Her kimono was dusty and dirty, picked and scraped like it had been drug across the ground too. The ropes biding the normally soft fabric to her pretty form were frayed and hastily tied, not knotted neatly like normal. She was missing her sandals and Nikoru couldn't tell for sure, but it looked like blood or something else was dripping down the inside of her thigh, hiding in the shadows of her flesh. "H-Hotaru…?" Nikoru tilted her head, taking a slow and cautious step towards her. Hotaru shook her head though.

"Don't. Just, please, don't. Don't touch me." She whimpered, biting her lip to keep in the tears that Itachi had commanded she not show anyone.

"Hotaru…what happened?" Nikoru reached out for her anyways, but Hotaru shook her head getting a slightly panicked and angry look on her face.

"Nothing! Just leave me alone!" She ran out of the room quickly, covering her face and bolting into the kitchen. There was nowhere for her to go. Itachi had gone to his room and she had no room of her own. So she ran down the hallway and ran into her only safe zone.

The bathroom's lock slid home with a loud snap, giving her some small comfort as she turned to face the white tiled room. She caught sight of her reflection in the sink mirror and froze, staring at herself for a moment. Horror gripped tightly to her features and wouldn't let go. She shook her head, tears falling thick and fast now as she collapsed to the floor and dropped her forehead to the tiles, hiding her face behind dirty hands. She kept shaking her head and crying, unsure of what she wanted to say or do. She had just gotten to where she was trusting Itachi…he had been so nice to her…In his own weird way he had slowly been working his way into her good graces. And now…Now what?

Nikoru banged loudly on the door, shouting Hotaru's name over and over again, demanding to know what was wrong with her. Kisame began to try and pull her away, trying to tell her that maybe Hotaru just had trouble fighting today or something like that and that she just needed some time to herself; but Nikoru shook her head violently at his words, and even he didn't agree with his own words. "Hotaru fights all the time! She LOVES to fight! She could've been an anbu! Fighting doesn't upset her like this; something HAPPENED!" Nikoru yelled at him, hitting him in the chest before turning to the door again. She banged her fist loudly on it, barking Hotaru's name once more.

Tobi poked his head around the corner, along with Hidan, both watching interestedly. "It was Itachi!" Nikoru spun with a death glare in her eyes, clenching and unclenching her fist as she looked across the hall at Itachi's door. He hadn't stuck his head out once, making her even more suspicious. "He was the ONLY one with her that could've done something to her to make her this way!" She snapped loudly, getting ready to stomp towards the door, but Kisame stopped her.

"Nikoru, you can't. You can't accuse him of something you don't know he did; besides, it's ITACHI." He reminded her gently, but Hidan snickered.

"Let her try and weasel information out of him. I think it'd be funny." Tobi shook his head as Kisame glared over his shoulder at Hidan.

"But it WAS him, I just KNOW it was! Hotaru doesn't get rattled like that in battle, she's fought much, much, MUCH worse than the average ninja we were sent out to kill today." She shook Kisame's cloak front, but he refused to budge. So, she turned back on the bathroom door and began banging and kicking again. "Hotaru! Tell me what's wrong! Tell me what happened! You HAVE to!" She shouted loudly, wanting to cry but unable to for the worry within her. There was never a reply from the bathroom; it was as if she weren't even in there.

Hidan and Tobi eventually wandered off, and Nikoru drove Kisame away every time he tried to move her and coax her to leave Hotaru alone until she came out. So, Nikoru pressed her forehead against the door tiredly, continuously hitting her fist against the wood; but it got slower and slower, the spaces between the strikes dragging out longer and longer. "Just tell me what happened…I can't protect you if you won't let me…" She whimpered, hitting her fist lightly against the door once more.

Hotaru covered her head as she quivered on the floor. She was curled in fetal position on the tiles now, her head buried in her arms, chin drawn into her chest. The longer she listened to Nikoru bang and kick and shout and cry out, the harder she cried and the more she shook her head and the further she buried it in her chest. She couldn't let anyone see her like this. She couldn't let anyone know what had happened. She couldn't let anyone know that some part of her enjoyed it; all of it. Because if one person knew, Sasuke would know…and that would be the end. All the pieces…were falling into all the wrong places and she didn't know how to stop them; how to control them at all really.

Itachi opened his eyes after a long time. He had gone into his room and changed his clothes, then flopped on his bed and simply closed his eyes. He had gone through another fit…and once more, he had hurt Hotaru in a way that he wondered if he would ever be able to reconcile for. Last time she had forgiven him, though it had taken some time…But, he wondered now if she would ever get near him again. He thought of his little brother, turning towards him and telling him that he hated him for everything he ever was and all he had ever done. This made him wince and open his eyes, though Sasuke's voice rang out in his ears still. He wondered, if Sasuke ever found out, if he would actually kill Hotaru for it or he would forgive her; seeing as she had no choice in the matter.

Itachi's hands reached out and covered his own eyes as he let out an inward groan. He could hear Nikoru out in the hallway now. She was crying out for Hotaru over and over again. He wondered if Hotaru would let her in, would tell her everything, would cry on her shoulder like she often did on Hotaru's. He shook his head, she would probably never tell anyone; it made her look too weak. And she was too ashamed to admit she enjoyed it only slightly less than he did. HE was even sickened by the fact that he had enjoyed it as much as he had.

His eyes opened and he uncovered them, sitting up and watching his door as he heard Nikoru blaming him and shouting that she would get ahold of him and figure out what was going on. He couldn't understand Kisame, he only could hear mutters and mumbles that were of the same deep ring as his. Then Nikoru began crying out for Hotaru again. It got very silent after that and he fell backwards onto his bed again.

Staring up at the ceiling with one of his hands stretched out, he touched Hotaru's side of the bed. His fingertips traced over the cool and smooth waves of the sheets, making him wonder again if he would ever feel her warmth beside him again. He had never really thought someone could care about someone like him, and he certainly never thought he would care if someone cared about him…but he did…and now he began to realize that he may have permanently fucked that up.

Hotaru shivered on the hard tile flooring, her side beginning to ache from her hip driving into it unforgivingly. She thought about rolling over, but couldn't wrap her mind around doing anything other than crying some more. Something shifted behind her, but she paid no mind, knowing no one could get in through a locked door. Her eyes closed and she thought of drifting into sleep, of pretending none of this had ever happened…but the darker side of her mind promised that not even dreams could erase this blood stain off of her.

A hand reached out, slowly and gently sliding over her shoulder, resting there for a brief and warm moment. Her rattled and confused mind failed to register she was supposed to be locked away by herself and she sighed with the comfort that was being transfused into her body through this simple touch. Warmth seeped into her skin and she sighed softly, feeling her body relax ever so slowly.

She wanted so badly to hug Kakashi…to have him stroke her hair and hold her on his lap, telling her that she was a beautiful and good person and that no one could ever take that from her. She wanted so badly for this hand to be his hand. That loving, gloved hand that always had to reach out and touch her in some way; as if to make sure she was real and wasn't going to leave him anytime soon.

"Kashi…I'm scared…" She whimpered quietly, her words echoing off of the flooring as she spoke into it. No one said anything for a long time and she began to wonder if she was dreaming all of this; then she remembered she was. There wasn't really a hand on her shoulder. No one could get into the bathroom without breaking down the door; and she had heard nothing of that sort.

"We are here…there is no reason to be afraid." Her eyes shot open at the soft, gentle voice that held nothing but concern and care in it. She tensed, jolting up and spinning to see Zetsu staring at her with a tilted head. She let out a cry, jerking backwards and scrambling into a wall, shaking her head as he stared at her in confusion. "Hotaru-chan…we are not here to hurt you. You must tell us what is wrong." He held out a hand, but stood his ground, knowing he would get farther if she was allowed to keep her distance. She shook her head, holding out a hand towards him to keep him at bay, beginning to sob again.

"Nothing's wrong! Just go away! Please!" She begged loudly, shaking her head again. He waited, biding his time again until she calmed slightly. She would tell him on her own, he just had to wait; even if it took all night.

"Hotaru-chan said she was scared…Why is Hotaru-chan scared in her own home?" The black side wondered as she choked on another sob, shivering and holding her head in her hands.

"It's not my home! This is NOT my home! I live in KONOHA! I live with Kashi!" She shouted loudly, glaring at him as if he had insulted her. He frowned, hurt a little that she had been staying with them so long and saw no reason to call this her home; if anything it was at least A home for her.

"We understand…We are sorry." The white side murmured, but she shook her head, whimpering and resting her chin on her knees again, looking at the flooring between them. She could see parts of her reflection staring back at her pathetically and she closed her eyes against it.

"I AM scared though…and disgusted." She whined quietly, running a hand through her matted hair and tangling it even more. Zetsu tilted his head in some interest.

"We are listening…and will help in any way we can." He offered and she smiled softly, looking up at him with hopeful eyes, but they were tinged with something that said he could do nothing for her.

"Zetsu…he hurt me." She looked at the floor, not wanting to elaborate farther than that, but knowing she needed to tell SOMEONE. Zetsu frowned,

"WHO hurt Hotaru-chan…?" the black side hissed violently, but she wouldn't look at him again. She dropped her face into her knees, her back moving up and down with her sobs.

"I couldn't do anything about it…I swear I couldn't. He had me pinned…there was nothing I could do!" She cried now, Zetsu glaring at her with glowing yellow eyes, but no words leaving his tightly pressed lips. "He…he RAPED me, Zetsu!" His face lit up with a demonic scowl, one that screamed of vengeance and violence. She jerked her head up to face him, tears spilling down her face, almost enough to clean the dirt off of it. "And I ENJOYED it!" Here she fell forwards, covering her face in her hands and shaking her head.

Zetsu didn't move or say anything for a long, long time; just looked down at her and watched her cry. Finally he reached out a slow hand, touching her shoulder with gentle fingertips once again. She flinched, but failed to move, even look up at him. "Hotaru-chan…needs a bath." He murmured and she caught her sobs in her throat, slowly looking up at him in confusion.

"Wh-what…?" She sat up, leaning on one arm as she stared at him. He reached out and ran a thumb down her cheek, ridding her of her tears from the one side.

"Hotaru-chan needs a bath…it will make her feel better." The white side murmured, gesturing to the tub near them. She glanced at it, then at him, looking down at the floor and shaking her head.

"I don't feel like it…" She whimpered, but he shook his own head.

"We want your SMELL back. This is foolishness…to stay filthy and upset…" The black side hissed and she looked back to him with slightly pained eyes. But, he was right. She looked at the insides of her thighs, a tear falling on her skin before she looked up again and nodded. He rose and walked over to the tub, drawing her water for her. He remained stationary on the side of the tub as she rose to her feet as well.

Slowly she undressed and walked over to the now knee high water. She stepped in, steam rising off of the surface of the water, coiling around her form as she slid beneath the clear water. Zetsu watched her sink up to her chin, sighing lightly and closing her eyes. He reached out and placed a hand on top of her head, making her look up to him. "Tell us who." He had a good idea, but he wanted it confirmed. She smiled gently, but shook her head.

"I can't. I'm sorry…you've helped me so much…but, I can't." She looked at the water as the black side fought the urge to grip down on her hair and dunk her beneath the water and force her to tell him. Instead, he remained utterly still. "I just want to pretend it didn't happen…And want to pretend…he didn't mean it." She looked up at him, "And, Zetsu?" he glanced down at her and she touched his hand with wet fingertips timidly. "Don't do anything on my behalf…please…" He blinked in some surprise, but she gave him a pale and empty smile. "I'm a big girl. I've had worse." She lied through her teeth, but he could do nothing against her wishes, his white side wouldn't allow it. Tiredly he nodded and reached into the water with both hands, cupping them and holding them over her head.

"We'll help you clean off then…But you must talk to Nikoru…She worries." He mumbled and she nodded silently, the water pouring over her head making her feel clean and safe again.

"Hey, Zetsu-san…" He hmmed at her to show he had heard her. She trailed a finger over the surface of the water, blushing lightly. "W-will you be my Kashi…? Till I can go home?" He paused and looked down at her, staring hard. Then he sighed, as if it were a very boring chore he had to do, but he nodded his head.

"We guess…" He mumbled and she gave a small smile again, nodding her own head gently beneath his fingers. Funny how, when he was worried about her and she didn't smell like herself…he wanted nothing to do with the thought of eating her. Right now, he just wanted to make her back into the little Hotaru he had met a few weeks ago. And see what he could do about this whole situation. Though she had asked him not to and he had agreed…he couldn't let this one slide.


	15. My Precious

_~~**~~This chapter wound up being alot of things. It was a way to explain some of Hotaru's past without me having to go back to an even older, original NarutoFF that I wrote a LONG time ago, and a way to get Hotaru and Itachi together in a gentle setting. Again, Itachi wound up being a little OC, but that's going to happen when you put him in a strange setting he doesn't belong in lol This piece basically shows you, through a giant time lapse, that Itachi and Hotaru and slowly coming to terms with each other and slowly coming to terms with their feelings for each other; even though Hotaru is STILL having trouble letting go of Sasuke.~~**~~_

"My Precious"

She was asleep again. In his bed again. He wondered if she ever wasn't tired. Itachi walked over to his bed, seeing Hotaru's curled form on it, hiding beneath the draped covers. He sat on the edge of the bed, looking away from her for a moment to glance around the room, then he looked back to her sleeping face. It was the middle of the day and she was napping; how could she do that? He reached out, brushing hair back from her cheeks and forehead, making her coo softly in her sleep. He laughed beneath his breath and she rolled onto her back, opening her eyes partially to glance at him, still clouded in sleep. "Tachi…?" She murmured, her words apparently breaking and catching in her mind. He nodded calmly, reaching out and touching her forehead lightly.

"Yes, it's Itachi." He promised quietly and she smiled, flexing her fingers above her head as she turned her head to the side and yawned, closing her eyes fully once more.

He studied her for a moment longer, letting his fingers run over her small features and soft flesh. They trailed down her throat, catching on the thin chain that always hung around her neck. He let his brow furrow as he pulled the chain into his hand gently, its pendent sliding into his palm with the soft jingle of fine metal against metal. He appraised the item in his hand, running his thumb over the ring that hung off the chain as he looked closely at it. Hotaru never talked about this necklace, and she never let anyone touch it…Come to think of it, he had never seen her take it off either.

He frowned, leaning a bit closer as his finger ran over something bumpy on the inside of the smooth ring. He noticed two things. One, the ring wasn't metal at all, but a fine misted glass that must have been as strong as diamond not to break with all the fights it must have been through; she DID claim to have had this ring since her parents' death. And he noticed words engraved on the inside of it in a fine and light hand. 'My Firefly'

He leaned back, dropping the ring onto her collarbone and tilting his head as it glinted at him in the sunlight of the afternoon. So it wasn't an omamori like she had claimed. He thought it was odd that a shrine would sell rings on necklaces…generally they were separate things. He wanted to ask her what it was and who gave it to her, he wanted to know what it meant to her…and if Sasuke was the one who had given it to her. Itachi rose to his feet, shaking his head and starting out of the room.

Glancing over his shoulder at the unsuspecting Hotaru he felt something inside of him cry out again. For some reason, finding out the real reason of that necklace made him hurt on the inside; for some reason he felt like he had been lied to and betrayed. He left the room, shutting the door behind himself with a click.

When Hotaru woke up she shook her head, running a hand through her hair and putting on one of Itachi's shirts. She reached up; touching her necklace to make sure it was still there, having had a bad dream about it. She had dreamed someone had been touching it, someone had been holding onto it without her permission, and they had discovered her dark little secret. And she dreamed of Gaara…which made her realize just how homesick she really was. She shook her head again, huffing off the thoughts and questions, dropping her hand to her side and starting out of the room.

She trudged into the kitchen tiredly, sitting heavily at the table and sighing. Kisame glanced over his shoulder at her, smiling, "Well, well, well, look who decided to join the living again." He grinned, baring his serrated teeth at her. She nodded slowly, her forehead resting in a heavy hand. Itachi was sitting across the table from her, but he seemed not to notice her there. "Do you want some coffee, little Hotaru-chan?" Kisame wondered and she nodded her head again, listening with wincing eyes as he clanked around in the cabinet looking for a cup for her. When he finally set one down in front of her she quietly thanked him and wrapped her hands around the steaming mug, trying to warm them and keep herself from shivering with the cold that had suddenly fallen over her.

Itachi still failed to pay any mind to her. She sipped at the hot beverage, eying him over the rim of her cup. "So, what bug crawled up your ass?" She wondered casually, setting the cup on the table again as Kisame chuckled and started out of the room with two mugs of coffee in his hands, the other most likely for Nikoru.

"Be nice, Hotaru-chan." He called over his shoulder and she scoughed, but nodded her head and sipped at her drink again. There was silence in the room now, one that was neither tense nor comfortable…just there.

Itachi finally looked over at her, his face dead as he did. "You and I need to talk." She snorted a laugh, but managed to slap a hand over her mouth before it got out fully. There was no laughter in his voice and there was no joke in his eyes, but she couldn't help it. The way he said it made it sound like they were dating and she had just done something wrong that he had found out about. When she got herself under control she nodded her head casually, putting her cup to her lips to hide the smile that didn't want to leave.

"Kay…What about?" She wondered, sipping at her coffee and setting it down again. He held out a hand, pointing to her throat as he did.

"That." He stated this like it was obvious. She tilted her head again, looking down and reaching up with a free hand, touching her chest.

"What, my breasts?" She looked back at him, but he wasn't phased by the comment, matter-of-factly it looked like it was only pissing him off more. She looked down again, her fingertips brushing over the one thing he could have possibly been talking about. Her hand strayed away from the ring, her eyes turning and looking out into the living room, her face falling. "What about it? It's a stupid necklace." She muttered, putting her lips to the rim of her cup again, but failing to take a sip.

"No, it's not. You treat it like gold when all it really is, is glass." She glanced back at him, hearing some sort of anger slipping into the undertone of his voice. She began to wonder if maybe she HADN'T been dreaming in the bed room. "Who gave you the ring?" He wondered, only this time she didn't look at him.

"No one. I told you, I got it from a shrine in our part of the village. It's all I have left of that time in my life." The last part was only a white lie. It was truly all she had left from her childhood, but it meant nothing to her in the way of her clan and family heritage like she claimed. He frowned, slamming a hand down on the table, making her flinch.

"You're lying! Shrines don't sell rings like that and they certainly don't put them on fucking chains! Now, who it to you?" He barked at her and she slowly turned to face him again, her own as emotionless as his was before.

"No one GAVE it to me. I bought it. The only reason it's on a chain now is because my fingers have gotten larger and I can't wear it anymore." Again, the second part was only a white lie; it was the truth, but not for the reason she gave before it. He glared, getting up and leaning on the table to stare down at her.

"Oh really? 'My Firefly' Protection rings from shrines say THAT now a days, do they?" He hissed at her and her eyes widened.

"How do you know it says that?" She gasped, but he smirked.

"I just do. Tell me, who gave you the ring?" His voice was even-toned once more, but she was angry this time. She slammed her cup on the table, sloshing liquid out and onto the wood surface beneath the cup.

"How DARE you! You can't touch my things without me knowing! Where do you get off?" She snapped, rising to her own feet and slamming her own hands on the table. They glared at each other for a moment, their foreheads almost touching they were so close.

"Did Sasuke give it to you?" He hissed, but this time she took her turn to smile smugly at him. She leaned back, folding her arms over her chest.

"Don't you wish." With that she turned, flipping her hair over his shoulder and starting out of the kitchen. His eyes narrowed and he followed after her, grabbing her upper arm just as she started down the hallway. He jerked her back into the kitchen, spinning her around as she clawed at his hand, looking between him and it with her own narrowed eyes.

"If he didn't give it to you, then who did?" He demanded, but Hotaru laughed.

"It's none of your damned business! Why do you care so much all of a sudden?" She shouted, jerking away from him and stomping a foot.

"Because you lied! You SAID you were in love with Sasuke and you're wearing someone else's promise ring? You either lied to just me or you lied to both of us, which is it?" Itachi was feeling a bit protective of his little brother's feelings now too. It wasn't fair to Sasuke that she was cheating on him, it wasn't fair at all.

"I didn't LIE to anyone! Sasuke knows about the ring and he knows where I got it from! Now leave me alone about it!" She spun, getting ready to run off, when he reached out for her again. This time his fingers caught the necklace and he pulled. She froze, spinning back towards him to keep the chain from breaking, but it was already too late. The thin and worn chain popped from around her neck, slinging the ring across the room. She gasped, staring after it with wide eyes, her hands flying to cover her mouth as she heard it land with a snap on the tiled flooring, skittering into a wall.

"Gaara!" The word slipped out of her mouth without her even realizing it as she dashed across the room, falling to the floor and grabbing onto the ring. Itachi watched after her with surprised eyes, but something else hid there too, some sort of disgust and pain. She looked at him, getting up and storming over to him, slapping him across the cheek. "What the FUCK is your problem?" She snapped, apparently not realizing she had given away her own secret. She held the ring tight in her fist at her side, readying to hit him again simply for staring at her with those dead eyes.

He reached out for the hand that held the ring. She pulled back, cradling it into her chest and glaring at him. "Why do you CARE so much all of a sudden? It's a dumbass ring!" She snarled, but he only sighed and looked at the floor.

"If it's so dumb, why do you treat it so lovingly?" He muttered quietly, brushing bangs out of his eyes. She opened her mouth to say something, but stopped, knowing there was nothing to say. Slowly she looked down at her hand, opening it carefully to look at the ring winking at her in the kitchen light. "So, Sabaku no Gaara gave you that, huh?" She looked over at him in surprise.

"H-how did you-?" He shrugged, watching her close her hand on the ring again.

"You said his name when it went across the room. Didn't you know?" He seemed calmed now, but that little part of him again was crying out about being betrayed. She looked down at her hand, her lashes lowering as her face fell once again.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She turned and began out of the room. He watched her go, wondering if she really expected him to buy that mess. She knew they had been looking for Gaara and a way to capture him for a long time. She knew they wanted the power that he held within him. So she knew that her slip up had just put her in a lot of danger; and put her apparent friend in danger too.

Itachi walked into his room, looking up slowly and pausing. Hotaru glanced over her shoulder at him, huffing and rolling her eyes before looking back towards the window. She slid her kimono off her shoulders, letting it drop to the floor with a quiet sigh of fabric. Itachi stepped inside completely, shutting the door silently behind himself, never taking his eyes off of her form. They swept over her outline, kissing each curve before pulling away to look at the back of her head. She turned her head to the side, wrapping an arm around herself and turning towards him slowly. Her breasts rested heavily on the arm she had tucked beneath them, making him fight off a small blush. She continued glancing at the floor, sighing lightly before speaking.

"I'm not a whore…" She mumbled and he scoughed.

"She says as she stands before me naked." She turned her eyes up to him, narrowing them before looking away again.

"I'm standing like this so you can see me for what I really am." Here he tilted his head in interest, noticing the glint of glass on her finger. He frowned as he remembered what they had spoken of only moments before.

"You've apparently stood like this and let a lot of men see who you really are." He pointed to the ring and she let her eyes flicker over it, before looking back to him. She seemed genuinely upset by his words.

"There's no way for me to keep you from knowing about him now that I've slipped up as bad as I have…and I don't know WHY I'm bothering to explain myself to you…But, I feel like I should." She shook her head, reaching up and brushing strands of hair out of her eyes. He folded his arms over his chest, leaning back against the door casually. She waited a long moment before speaking again. "I've slept with three men in my life…four if I include you…" To some that would seem like a large number, especially when she claimed only to love one, but to her it was a very small amount. Itachi felt his eyes harden against her.

"I don't want to know about how you've fucked over my little brother without him even realizing it." He muttered, but she shook her head, looking up at him with pleading eyes.

"You don't understand! Kiba was my first lover, long before Sasuke ever stepped into the picture! So that one means nothing!" She begged and he shrugged.

"The others?" He wanted to know and yet he didn't. If he planned to sire children through this woman he really didn't want to know their mother was a whore.

"Sasuke and Gaara…" She whimpered, "So really, I've only slept with two other than Sasuke…and I only have with Gaara because…he's like you…" This made him frown in confusion, but he was distracted when she moved her hips, cocking one out to the side comfortably. He made himself look back to her face to avoid having a minor slip up of his own and to keep this conversation serious.

"There is no one like me, not even my little brother." He told her boredly, but she shook her head and smiled lightly, one of her fingers bent to swirl the ring on it gently. She studied the floor, like she could see something he couldn't there.

"No…he is. He's smart and charming…but so dead on the inside. So convinced that no one could love him, that no one could care for him in anyway ever again…because of the great evils he's committed in spite of himself." Tears were welling in her eyes, but she held them in. She shook her head lightly once more, letting out a quiet laugh. "We met when we were kids…I was playing with him while you were at home killing my family…" He winced and looked away from her at that comment, guilt rushing over him, making him force his face to stay empty on the surface.

"He was my first crush…and I never got to tell my mom…or continue the relationship. I didn't see him again until we were at the chunine exams. By then he had slipped so far into the darkness that I couldn't pull him out on my own…" She felt her knees buckling beneath her, but only let them quiver, not wanting to let her memories get the better of her again. "I owe him so much…And he expects so little of me…yet so much more than I can give him." She shook her head, holding up a hand and covering her eyes with it.

Itachi looked back at her, his brow furrowed as he watched her reaction and tried to figure out what she was desperately trying to tell him. "H-he loves me…Even after I abandoned him in pursuit of my own life and my revenge he still loves me…I basically sacrificed him to the darkness and he still wants me to be his remaining light. He still wants me to be his little firefly…his only hope for a life other than one filled with murder and death." She looked up at Itachi with pain in her eyes, letting the tears streak down her face.

"S-Sasuke knows…he always knew. He hated Gaara near me…He and Kashi did all they could to keep us apart; they claimed it was for my own safety. Sasuke almost DIED fighting Gaara…over me. –I- almost died, fighting to keep them both alive and save them from each other…" She shook her head, holding out her hands to him. "But, unlike you, Sasuke understood. He knew I would never leave him, I would never love anyone else, but him. He knew that my love for Gaara was the love of a sibling and nothing more." She wiped her tears away with the back of her hand, shaking her head again and laughing brokenly once more.

She fell heavily onto the bed, slumping and dropping her head into her hands as she began to cry again. "Gaara raped me over and over again…and I kept LETTING him…because I owed it to him. I'm his little firefly…I'm his only surviving hope…" She whimpered, slowly looking up at Itachi once more. Her smile was forced and broken in places, looking strange and yet tragic. "I love him…But, I could never, NEVER hurt Sasuke enough to love Gaara like he wants…I love Sasuke too much."

Itachi remained standing for a long time. Now he knew why she held the ring so dear. It was the only remaining piece of the Gaara that she once loved and held dear. It was HER only surviving hope. Slowly he walked over to her and sat beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her into his chest. She whimpered, clutching at his shirt front and shivering. "I'm not a whore, I promise. I love Sasuke…I do…" It was almost as if she were reassuring him, but reassuring herself at the same time.

In his heart of hearts he wondered if she thought about him at all…Did she hold him in such close regard as she did this Gaara boy? Or was he like the Kiba boy she had mentioned, just someone that had touched her in passing? He glanced down at the top of her head, brushing his hand through her hair. When his fingers reached the end of a few strands he held them out, looking down at them silently, twirling the soft tresses over his fingers. "No…you're not." He muttered, deciding to do something that he knew was foolish and he shouldn't do at all; but he had to.

He let go of her hair, reaching down and gently lifting her chin towards him. She looked up with wet eyes, still loosely holding onto his shirt front. "But, I have to ask you…had it not been for me being on that list through force…" She blinked, her lips parting softly in some surprise as he glanced away with softened eyes and the smallest hint of a rose tint to his cheeks. "Where would I fall on that list?" He glanced back at her, "What do –I- mean to you?" His voice had gotten quiet and hesitant, like he didn't believe his own words.

She didn't answer immediately; apparently her normally noisy and never stopping mouth had lost its talent for words at the moment. Finally her eyes shifted down to their laps and her fingers flexed on his shirt front before gripping down a bit tighter. "I-I'm not sure…" She murmured and he closed his eyes, releasing an inward sigh of some disappointment. He wasn't sure himself of what he had wanted her to say, but he knew that apparently, this wasn't the answer he had wanted.

"Y-you create a lot of weird feelings inside of me, Itachi." His eyes opened and he looked back down at her, watching her eyes flit over the room like she was searching for the answer within their belongings. Her grip on his shirt kept tightening, as though she was afraid to let it go for fear he would get up and run off, but she wouldn't look at him. "I know that to love you in anyway would be treason to the Uchiha prince that I love now…And he would kill me as soon as he would you if he ever found out…" She looked at their laps, her free hand toying with the covers behind them as she leaned against it.

"But…I feel something more than just friendship towards you whenever I'm near you. Something stirs and moves around inside of me when I get too close to you, or breathe in your scent at night…There's something in me that I can't control when I see you." She shook her head and laughed quietly, "S-sorry…I'm rambling and being stupid." She swiped at her eyes again, blushing nervously. Itachi smiled softly, turning her face towards his own once again.

"It's always good to hear someone feels the same way you do on the inside." He murmured and she looked to him in surprise, caught off guard completely. His lips neared her own, this time slow and slightly timid, his head tilting as if questioning whether or not it would be okay. Her lashes slowly began to lower as she gave a small nod, leaning closer to him too. "We'll figure...the rest out...later..." His words were slow and drawn out, his lips brushing over her own gently as he spoke before he finally kissed her. Hotaru smiled lightly, a final tear running down her cheek as she wrapped her free hand around his neck and pulled him deeper into the kiss, her hand letting go of his shirt to wrap around his body. He seemed surprised, but didn't pull away, rather wrapped his own arms around her and began pulling her closer too.

She crawled into his lap, following his guiding hands easily as she straddled him. He could feel the warmth of her bare skin pressing against the folds and fabric of his pants. A hand slid down to her lower back, running over the curves found there, his fingertips dancing over each bump of her spine. She shivered and arched her back slightly, pressing her breasts harder against him and her lower body farther into his own as her back eased out of his reach. He smiled and pulled his lips from hers, sliding a hand over her shoulder and around the back of her neck as he leaned closer, kissing the side of her throat teasingly.

Her fingers trailed over his chest once more, snaking beneath the rim of his shirt to run smoothly up and over his defined chest before easing downwards once more. A hand tapped lightly over the rim of his pants before she pulled from his kisses, smiling gently at him as she began to toy with the button fastening his pants together. He smirked lightly, combing fingers through her hair again as he studied her face. She began to undo his pants, easing them down his hips with smooth motions before she leaned forward kissing him once more.

As she pulled away she ran the tip of her tongue over his lips, causing him to let out a soft sigh as she continued to smile at him. "Should we keep going this far…?" He wondered, watching her stand up and pull his pants off of him, laughing slightly on the inside at her sudden assertiveness. She crawled back on top of him, nodding slowly as she eased him down onto the bed, leaning over him and letting her hair fall around them like a fragrant blanket. He reached up, brushing curls behind her ear again before leaning up on his elbow, pulling her into a kiss one more time.

He couldn't comprehend the fact that someone wanted to care for him…That someone wanted to make sure to look out for his well being and his feelings too. He hadn't had that happen in a long, long time; and had honestly thought he was forever lost to the feeling. He felt her ease onto him, releasing a soft moan into his mouth as her body tensed and relaxed all at the same time. He winced, loving how it felt inside of her and how they seemed to fit together perfectly, but wondering what would happen when they had to part ways.

Pulling back he tugged gently at her bottom lip, mimicking her gesture and listening to her whimper as she rest her hands on his chest, beginning to rise and fall against him languidly. "What about…Sasuke…?" He breathed, running his hand down her throat and over one of her breasts, more whimpers of want and happiness greeting his ears with each touch. She shook her head, her movements quickening and making him wince again as he struggled to keep his mind about him.

"I-I don't kn-know…!" She gasped quietly and he bit back a chuckle, nodding his head and running a thumb over her cheek. They would talk about it later. Right now he was like her; he wanted to just give in.

"Alright then…" He murmured warmly over her nipple, drawing it into his mouth gently as his hands took hold of her hips and he began his own motions to follow hers.

"I-Itachi…!" Hotaru cried out, glancing over her shoulder at him with those bedroom eyes of hers. He slid a hand up along her hip and over her stomach, his second hand pressing hers against the wall gently. His hips moved against her backside in slow, measured movements, easing in deeply before pulling away again. His mouth brushed over her ear and the back of her neck as he groaned against her, feeling her quiver in his grasp. Her fingers drug down the wall, her nails scraping over the paint as her knuckles whitened and she moaned, leaning her head back against his shoulder briefly. He took the opportunity to hold her throat, kissing and nipping over it teasingly.

She panted softly near his ear, turning her own head and running the tip of her tongue over his moist skin. "More…" She murred softly and he smiled, releasing her and taking hold of her hip again. She leaned up, feeling him press her body against the wall once more before driving hard and deep inside of her, causing her to cry out in pleasure once again. His motions quickened, both of them beginning to pant softly as their bodies worked in unison.

Itachi watched her get up on weak legs, starting to grab one of his shirts and put it on. He smirked as he watched her bend over, admiring his handy work as he eyes ran over her backside and down the insides of her thighs, a mixture of his happiness and her own dripping along her skin. "I…" She took a deep breath, sliding the shirt over her head and shaking before she continued. "I need to take a shower…" She mumbled, glancing at him with a smile lighting her eyes before turning to walk out. She took two steps before her knees gave way beneath her.

He was up and had her in his arms before she could hit the floor. She looked up at him with a blush and soft laugh before he smiled down at her, shaking his head. "Silly girl, fucked so hard you can't walk." She blushed deeply and looked at the ground as he held her princess style.

"Sorry…" She mumbled, but felt him rest his lips against the top of her head lightly, making her look up at him as he closed his eyes momentarily.

"Don't be." And with that he carried her out of the room and across the hall, closing the bathroom door behind them with a quiet click.

Hotaru knew that she was probably considered an evil person on a few many levels by this point. She had now, willingly, slept with her parents' killer and clan's murderer. And she had betrayed Sasuke. But, the part of her that wondered if she would ever truly see Sasuke again, told her she was simply moving on…He would understand if he came back. How was she to know that she would ever see him again? He had SAID he never would come back. But…she thought, also…that maybe she could hide what she had done from him. So that, if they ever saw each other again…it wouldn't be so bad.

Itachi gently ran a cloth over her shoulder and down her arm, standing in front of her and looking at her with soft, almost admiring eyes. He knelt, running the cloth over her lower stomach and the insides of her thighs, making her shiver and look down at the top of his head. She reached out and tried to run her fingers through his wet hair, but they caught and pulled, so she stopped and simply rest her hand on the top of his head. She closed her eyes, feeling him rise to his feet again and her hand slide from his head. She wrapped her arms around him, pressing her cheek against his chest and hugging him tightly.

"I love Sasuke…I really do…" She whimpered, her words almost drowned out by the rushing water. Itachi was slightly surprised by the comment, after everything that had just happened, but he understood at the same time. He placed his hand on her back, leaning down and placing his cheek against the top of her head again.

"He knows…I promise…" He mumbled, seeing now that this girl's heart held no bounds and reached out to whomever she felt needed it most at the time. But it bled for the one person that didn't seem to want it.


	16. Secret Spires

_~~**~~This came after a giant time lapse too, and almost doesn't fit in with the story any longer. Nikkias started out in the story wanting her OC and Madara to have moments together. In her side of the story "Akatsuki House of OC1", Madara sneaks into Nikoru's bedroom one night before Hotaru ever even shows up. As Tobi he's having to share his room with Nikoru and being in such close proximity with a woman, after so long, is starting to wear on his body. So, he takes off his Tobi guise and rapes Nikoru. He winds up taking her virginity and feeling a bit guilty, so he comes back night after night, slowly developing a strange and mysterious relationship with her while being best friends with her, at the same time, as Tobi. This piece is what happens when she finds out who Tobi truly is. Again, I know Madara would never leave the Akatsuki, considering he's leading them, but I couldn't change that piece for want of keeping the original story in tact-no matter how wrong it was lol~~**~~_

"Secret Spires"

_"I never forgave you...for the secrets you held in your spires..."_

Nikoru hummed lightly as she wandered through the house, looking around corners and into all of th rooms. She had been looking for Tobi almost all day. It wasn't like him not to be around the corners she was turning for him. It wasn't like him to leave her side that often; matter of factly, that was the odd part. Generally if he left her side it was to play hide-and-seek with her and all she had to do was look around the corner, then, BAM! he'd be there and in her face. But, she wasn't having any such luck today.

"Tobi? Tobi-kun...where're you hiding?" She smiled, calling out to him as she waited against the wall of the hallway. He'd be right there around this corner, she could feel it this time. "Tobi, come on out so we can make cookies together!" She grinned, using his sweet tooth against him. She jumped around the corner, planning to get him before he got her, "Hah! Gotchyah!" She grinned, holding out her hands like claws...but, there was no one there. She straightened up, frowning and rubbing the back of her head as she put her free hand on her hip, looking around one more time. "Where in the world could he be...?" She mumbled to herself, starting off for the second hallway.

She got into the kitchen and spotted Deidara working on a sculpture at the table, concentrating hard. She grinned and walked over, "Hey, Dei-chan!" She slammed her hands down on the table, rocking it and making him grip down hard on the clay sculpture. He glared, closing his eyes in effort to keep his limited patience.

"What is it, Nikoru?" He ground out through clenched teeth and she continued grinning at him.

"Do you know where Tobi-kun is? I've been looking for him forever and can't find him anywhere! Did Leader-sama send him out or something?" She tilted her head, short strands of layered blonde falling into her bright blue eyes. Deidara shook his head, looking back to his artwork, beginning to smooth it out once more.

"I have no idea, un. Try asking Itachi, he always knows what Leader-sama's up to, un." He suggested, calmer now that he was focusing on his beloved art again. She smiled, patting the table and rocking his sculpture once more, making him grind his teeth again and squeeze his eyes shut.

"Thanks, Dei-chan!" She giggled and skipped off to her original destination, and the one he had just suggested, the second hallway.

She paused in the hallway, seeing Tobi walking calmly into Itachi's room and shutting the door behind himself. Perfect! She had to remember to hug Deidara for being so smart later. She ran over to the door, grabbing the door handle and getting ready to open it when she froze, hearing a voice she didn't recognize in the room. She frowned, pressing her ear closer to the wood of the door, still holding onto the handle incase she wanted to walk in still. She heard Itachi's voice, then the other strange voice, but there was no Tobi. And she knew she had seen him walk in there; no one else wore an orange swirled mask. Frowning she began to listen to their words, hating to eavesdrop, but feeling like she had no choice in the situation.

Tobi shut the door behind himself, looking at Itachi as he sat at a desk, scribbling on some papers that wee of no importance, he was sure. "What is it, Tobi? Can't you see I'm busy?" Itachi didn't look up from his papers, and Tobi didn't move from in front of the door. Matter of fact, he failed to respond to Itachi at all, making the boy growl in response. "Get lost, Tobi. Go play with one of the girls." He waved a hand towards him, causing Tobi to tilt his head slightly. Finally Itachi looked up at him, frowning deeply, "WHAT do you WANT?" He grit his teeth against the sight of the annoying masked man. But, the voice that greeted him was far from the usual voice of the senseless Tobi.

"I've come to talk business with you, Itachi." This voice was deep and strange, raspy from long lack of use. Itachi arched a brow, appearing more interested now than upset at being interrupted.

"Oh really? And to what do I owe the pleasure of a Madara appearance?" He let a smirk pull at the corners of his thin lips, tilting his own head as he watched a gloved hand reach up to the swirled, one-eyed mask. Slowly it was removed and the man that was older than him, but looked so much younger, stared back at him with a bloody sharingon eye. His second eye was covered with a white patch, strapped behind his ear, his short, spiked black hair spilling around it. The second eye was covered for better depth perception and use of the forever uncovered one.

"It's about the girl." His voice was even more empty than Itachi's. Itachi sat up now, dropping his pen to the desk and putting his arms behind his head.

"Alright, I'm listening." He nodded to show him that he truly had his attention. Madara dropped the mask to his side, letting a slow smile tug at the corners of his lips also, giving him a manic appearance.

"I want you to leave Hotaru alone. She is mine." It was a simple statement, one that had been made before for other reasons, but this time it held so much more meaning to Itachi. He let his brow furrow, his body tensing as he watched Madara's do the same. Apparently he had come in here knowing this would be no easy claim.

"I'm glad you understand I'm not going to cow at your feet simply because you are Leader." Itachi rose to stand, touching the desk lightly with his fingertips, as if to keep himself rooted to the ground. Madara smiled palely.

"Of course, I never expected you to." He offered this as if it were a compliment. There was a pregnant silence for a moment, neither of them daring to move or speak as they sized each other up for the first time in a long time. Itachi broke first.

"Why do you want her?" He knew the reason. There was no point in asking why. And yet, he wanted to hear it for himself. Wanted to know that someone else thought the same insane things he thought. WAS it treason to sleep with the enemy? He knew Hotaru had been struggling with the thoughts for some time too; every time she looked at him she struggled internally. He had been going to win her over soon, to make her realize he wasn't going to give up and was going tohave his way; but this threw a kink into his plans.

"The same reason you want her. I want to be the one to restart the Uchiha clan." Madara shrugged, allowing that smile to tug the corners of his lips even further when Itachi frowned at him for the answer. I twas exactly as he expected, but for some reason, it made him upset to hear it. "You know we're a powerful race. More powerful than any other of the clans out there. Our keki genki is matched by no other. Combined with our wit and amazing skills, we are an unbeatable class; hence our demise. Now, I have the opportunity to start it over. To bring that race back to life. I'M going to be the one with that credit. I will be the one to father the Uchiha's once more." Madara spoke exactly like Itachi had thought the first couple of times he had thought bout why he wanted Hotaru alive and contained near him.

But, as he watched Madara touch his chest and claim that he would be the father of the Uchiha clan, Itachi realized what separated the two of them. He cared, partially, about Hotaru's well being. If he had to marry her to restart the clan then he would. Madara wanted to use her and then get rid of her. Itachi shook his head, looking down at the desk and laughing softly. "You can't father a clan. You're no longer strong enough and CERTAINLY not young enough." He looked back up at Madara, who was glaring at him for the taunt. "You're a fool to think she'd ever TOUCH you. She's MINE. And there's NOTHING you can do about it." Itachi laughed aloud this time, watching his words spark his mentor's anger even farther.

"Silence!" He barked at him, slashing a hand through the air and stepping forward with a glare. He grit his teeth against him and clenched his fist, the leather of his gloves creaking in the silence of the room once again. "She's mine! As your leader I ORDER you to stand down!" He snarled, watching Itachi stalk from behind the desk and lean against its front, folding his arms over his chest mildly. He seemed a lot calmer than he was supposed to, in the face of losing this promising prospect that he had fought so hard to keep alive.

"I refuse. She's mine and that's final." Itachi shook his head and Madara stomped a foot, storming over to him and snatching him up by the collar. Itachi grabbed hold of his hand, both of their sharingon eyes glowering at each other, each daring the other to move first.

"STAND. DOWN." Madara's tone deepened with the venom of his threat, but Itachi's grip only tightened on hi wrist, threatening to break the bones.

"She's mine." He growled back, gaze hardening against him even further.

Madara stood for a moment, studying his protege, trying to see what now made him tick in the irregular way he was; then he smiled. He stepped back, releasing Itachi and shaking his head. "Where are my manners? It seems we've both forgotten how to be civil towards one another, Itachi. We must look like two cave men." He laughed softly as the younger boy eyed him suspiciously. "Listen, I've come up with a proposition for the whole situation. A solution, if you will." He offered a gloved hand out and Itachi once more folded his arms over his chest, arching a brow at him.

"Again, I'm listening." He mumbled skeptically, but Madara smiled once more.

"In order to restart a pure clan we're going to have to keep producing pure Uchiha's. It's great that we can create a pure Uchiha child with the girl now, but what after that? There is no other Uchiha woman for that child to procreate with, or man for that matter. We would need the Sasuke boy and even then it would be a little odd, do you not think?" Itachi tilted his head slightly, feeling he knew where the speech was going; and not feeling the same smile Madara was wearing. "So, we'll share. You create a child with her and I'll create another. We'll breed the children and eventually have a full Uchiha clan." Madara continued to smile at him like he had just spoken of breeding pets. "Do we have a deal?" Madara extended his hand again; Itachi studying it for a moment. How could such a vile person hide under such an innocent disguise and pull it off without a hitch? It was not the first time the thought had struck him.

"No. She's mine. I'l keep her from Sasuke and take her for myself." Itachi finally smiled back at him, watching the man's own smile fade and his eyes harden once again. "Now, leader or not, I suggest YOU step down, Madara-sama." Itachi rose to his fet again, looking up into Madara's eye and glaring.

"You CAN'T have her! I will be the father of the Uchihas! I will have my perfect clan!" Madara cried out, suddenly losing himself to his rage. Itachi laughed bitterly though.

"You don't have what it takes!" He spat and Madara growled at him, lunging and ripping him by the throat once more. But, as he opened his mouth to snarl a retort, the door flew open. He dropped Itachi, scrambling to jerk his mask back up and cover his features before he spun on his heel to see who had walked in one them. Itachi touched his throat, leaning against the desk and looking around Madara to see who had walked in also.


	17. Lie to Me

"Lie to Me"

Nikoru stared in horror at the two of them, her fears having been confirmed. The strange voice was her new found friend...she had trusted that voice. "Nikoru-chan! Tobi been looking for you!" She winced and stepped back at the sound of the childish voice she had come to know and look forward to hearing in the mornings. Now it sounded like nails on a chalkboard. Tobi tilted his head lightly, frowning behind the mask and wondering why she was looking at him like that. She looked like she had been slapped in the face. "What wrong, Nikoru-chan? Tobi hug you!" He laughed shrilly again, moving for her with open arms, but she shrieked and threw her arm out, stopping him short.

"Don't touch me! Don't get anywhere near me ever again!" She cried out, glaring at him with all the hurt in the world in her eyes. Tobi stood straight and Itachi scoughed a laugh, standing straight himself.

"Looks like she's onto your game, Madara." He mumbled, sitting against the desk once more, preparing to watch the show. Nikoru looked around Tobi and towards Itachi.

"Shut up! I don't want to hear your voice either, asshole!" She shouted at him, stomping her foot, ten looking back to Tobi. "Take off the mask!" She barked the command, making him take a step back.

"Why, Nikoru-chan? Tobi doesn't ever take his mask off, Nikoru-chan know that!" He continued with the front, hoping she'd give in and leave him be. She covered her ears, shaking her head and crying out again.

"Stop it! Stop using that voice! STOP LYING TO ME!" She screamed, looking up at him with a glare, tears welling in the corners of her eyes. "Show me your face! Stop cowering behind that mask and show me the truth! Who the fuck ARE you?" She pointed at him as he stood frozen, stunned at this new side of her that she was revealing to him.

Part of her was terrified of the truth that lie behind that mask. She had recognized that deep, calming voice that she had heard in such a rage in here only moments before. She KNEW that voice, and KNEW who was residing behind that glaring orange mask...But, she didn't WANT to know. She had to though, she had to confirm her suspicions; but, her heart tore in two as she watched his hand slowly lift towards the false face.

He reached up, pulling his mask down slowly, revealing his true features to her. His permanent sharingon eye staring at her calmly. She shrieked again, holding her head and shaking it, dropping to her knees with the weight of the realization. "You lied! You lied to me! To EVERYONE! How COULD you?" She sobbed, hugging herself now as she looked down at the carpet. Madara looked down at her, frowning slightly, feeling a strange tugging sensation at his heart. It was the same one he had felt the night Hotaru had been hurt by Hidan...the sensation that had made him almost offer to give his own blood in front of everyone. He thought it was called sadness, maybe regret, but he couldn't be ure. Emotions had long been lost to him.

Nikoru looked up at him, shivering as she held tightly to her own arms, tears streaking down her cheeks in fat tracks. "You talked about her like she was some kind of animal! Like you could just pass her around and be done with it! Just decide her fate and leave her to rot! You spoke of her like some kind of DOG! What the FUCK is your problem?" She cried out, looking up at him with eyes that begged for some kind of explanation. Eyes that wanted to be told lies, that wanted to go back to what had been only moments before. Eyes that couldn't handle the truth she had heard or seen.

"It needs to be done. The world has gone far too long without the mar of the Uchihas on it...It's time it became familiar with them again." Madara's voice was as dead as Itachi's normally was. Nikoru stared at him in disbelief, having hoped one final time that he would apologize to her and give her some good reason as to why he lied to her. She watched Tobi die, only to be taken over by this horrible man...Yet, she couldn't give up.

"Please...Why did you lie? Why? Didn't it mean anything? Anything at all? Any of it?" She reached out for him, her hand shivering, hoping to hold his hand one more time. Maybe if she could touch im she could make him understand; she could make him come back to her. So many nights they had lain together...So many times she had reached out and run fingers through his hair or brushed the back of her hand down his cheek as she let him kiss at her throat...And for what? To find out he was playing her like a damned deck of cards? To find out that she was a fool and had fallen into his web of lies completely?

"What? Playing and coloring with you? Pranking these fools I call a team? No. All of it was just to keep them all thinking I was the idiot they perceived me to be. While I waited and bided my time for the opportune moment to leave them or lead them; I never cared which." He waved a hand as she cried out again, covering her mouth iwth her own hand and staring at him in horror once more.

"You're lying! Again!" She screeched, rising to her feet, quivering with rage and upset. "You didn't even MENTION our nights together!" She barked and Madara slid a step backwards in some surprise, glancing over his shoulder at the slightly shocked Itachi. The younger Uchiha tilted his head, now watching with peeked interest, now understanding who had been visiting Nikoru over and over and over again; and that she wasn't as crazy as they had all thought. Madara glanced back at Nikoru as she let her features twist with violent rage. "THAT meant nothing to you? I meant NOTHING to you?" She screamed, stomping her foot and sending a blast of wind towards him, causing him to stagger back another step as the cool air rushed over him. "YOU BASTARD! YOU TOOK MY -VIRGINITY- AND YOU SAID IT MEANT -EVERYTHING- TO YOU! TELL ME THAT MEANS -NOTHING- TO YOU!" She screeched once more, her whole body tremoring violently as she did.

She looked up at him with narrowed eyes, wind beginning to whip around her, tossing her short hair about wildly. Itachi's papers scattered all over the rom, the door flung wide once more, banging loudly against the wall over and over again. Neither man moved, only watched her. She clenched her fists at her sides, gritting her teeth against him as she continued to stare him down, wanting to see him flinch and admit he was wrong. "Just admit that you felt SOMETHING. You KNOW you did! This MEANT something!" She barked, lunging at him with her fist raised, ready to FORCE him to see that she was right.

He caught her fist, throwing her to the side and backing up slightly, separating himself from the confrontation again. She righted herself, tears welling in her eyes once more as she lunged a second time, launching off of Itachi's bed and into Madara again. This time, instead of moving to hit him, she grabbed hold of him, latching onto the cloth covering his shoulder. She jerked him to the floor, throwing him to his back and standing over him. "You bastard! You fucking bastard! I gave you everything! I spilt my heart to you! I made FRIENDS with you!" She stomped her foot, straddling him now, clenching her fists at her sides. She shook her head, holding her hand in front of her, looking like she didn't understand anything at all anymore. "I made LOVE to you." She hissed, staring down at him once again, her eyes narrowed to nothing but slits.

He looked up at her, glancing at Itachi, then at her again. He didn't understand why she was so upset, he didn't understand what he had done wrong. He had been good to her, had he not? What did it matter now if he had been lying at the time? At least she had been having fun while it happened. "You raped me...Then you masked yourself and paraded as my protector and dear friend...as each night you came in and falsely claimed to love me...then would act as though you were clueless the next morning." As if she had sensed his thoughts, she began to explain her plight to him, shaking her head slowly again. She laughed in disbelief under her breath, looking back and seeing all the signs she had missed before. "You lied. Over and over again, you lied. As TWO DIFFERENT people, you lied to me. You not only betrayed me...you not only hurt me...You did it TWICE." She stopped for a moment, putting her hands over her face and tossing it back, looking up at the ceiling from behind her tightly locked fingers.

Everything stood still and silent for a moment as she tried to get everything together; tried to understand one more time. He blinked, feeling something small and wet hit his cheek, startling him from his thoughts. He looked up, seeing her head bowed and eyes closed now, crying over him; literally and figuratively. "Please...please...Tell me there was some scrap of love there." She whispered this time, wiping at her with the back of her hand, opening them slowly and looking at him again; searching for answers once more. He stared for a long time, not saying a word.

There were footsteps coming down the hallway, someone was running towards al the commotion she had made. When he failed to answer she laughed quietly, nodding her head slowly, then dropping it once again. She stepped from over him, allowing him to sit up and look at her with some interest. "I understand..." She whispered, her knees beginning to buckle as she felt the weight of what just happened once again hit her full force.


	18. Parting Shots

_~~**~~In the summing up of this lost set of chapters, I have to say, Madara went way OC too. I know it would be hard for him to feel love of any kind for Nikoru-chan, but it's obvious why we had to make him the way we did. The story has to move along lol And no, I don't know if Itachi knows about Hotaru's birthing condition, we never wrote that out nor did we discuss it further than this. I imagine he doesn't though, even if he did, I imagine he would attempt anyways.~~**~~_

"Parting Shots"

Hotaru ran in, grabbing hold of the door frame and swinging around it, halting inside of the room. She looked upon the scene in wonder. The room was a wreck, the floor littered with papers and other things but, Tobi's mask staring up at her from the flooring caught her eye more than anything else. She looked over, catching eyes with Itachi, waiting a moment before looking down to see Nikoru and the unmasked Tobi sitting near his feet. Nikoru looked up at her, seeing her step in slowly and pick up the mask, glancing down at it, then back at her. "Nik...what happened in here?" She whispered, feeling like she shouldn't break the quiet enveloping the room. She knew this stillness. Something had died in this room and someone was screaming for it to come back.

Nikoru looked up at her with a quivering lower lip, glancing at the mask in her hands, then at her again. "H-he liked to me, Hotaru...All of it was a lie..." She whimpered, pointing a shaky finger at Madara and collapsing to her knees. Hotaru jerked forward, reaching for her with her free hand, but Madara swung to face her. She froze, staring hard at the bloody eye that stared back at her so calmly. Hotaru shook her head, momentarily forgetting her friend's plight, beginning to back up and touching her fingers to her open lips in horror as Madara rose to his feet.

He had no time to play mind games with the female that was so upset at him now. He had no time to try and understand what was going on with her emotions and that strange thing she called a heart. He no longer had those things and no longer had need of someone with them. He smiled at Hotaru, knowing that he had to take her now or he would never have the chance again. "That's right, Hotaru, I'm an Uchiha too. There's one more survivor to add to your list." His smile lengthened as he began to advance on her and she backed farther into a wall. "I'm the very FIRST survivor." He reached out for her, "Now, you and I are going to go away. We're going to go away and restart the clan." His voice was that same deadly calm as he continued to advance on her.

"NO! YOU stay awaw from me!" She hurled his mask at him, watching it bounce off his chest ineffectively and land on the floor. He paused and laughed, shaking his head tiredly.

"Now, Hotaru, you know I can't do that." She shook her head too, taking hold of it and beginning to tremble, unable to handle all of these new surprises that kept popping up from her past while she was here. "I'm the rightful father of the Uchiha clan. I'm the strongest and wisest one, the one rightfully meant to lead the Uchihas. And YOU'RE going to be the one to help me recreate them." Madara grinned at her, watching her slide down the wall, curling into a little ball as she began to cry.

"Stop it! Stop it! There ARE no other Uchihas! There aren't ANY! Sasuke and I are the ONLY ones left, we were the only ones for TEN YEARS nd we're STILL the only ones!" She was going into shock and denial, burying her face in her hands and shaking her head as she sobbed. "Just leave us ALONE!" She screamed at him, looking up and shaking her head again. Itachi walked over, stepping between them and glaring at Madara as he glared back.

"She's right. I think it's time you leave, Madra-sama." He glared. They stood off for a oment, Madara looking over his shoulder at the sobbing Nikoru, then looking over Itachi's shoulder at the whimpering Hotaru. IN a day he had gone from being their favorite to their most hated; and some part of him hated the fact. He looked down at his feet, letting the strange new guilt wash over him suddenly, closing his eye.

"Fine." He turned and began out of the room, making Nikoru look up suddenly. Itachi blinked in some surprise, not having expected his mentor to back down from his challenge so easily. But, he supposed Madara was cutting his losses and going to find somewhere to recuperate only to come back and try again when he was better prepared.

Nikoru watched him start away with terrified eyes. She had commanded him to never come near her again, earlier. Screamed at him and shouted at him, attacked him, tried to force him to see her side of things. But now, watching him go, she realized she couldn't stand to lose him. "Tobit, wait! Come back, please!" She reached for him, getting to her knees as she did, caling out as he walked out of the door. He failed to look over his shoulder at her, unable to see the pain he had caused written on her face any longer.

He had once put happiness there. He wanted to try and remember that as he walked away from her. He supposed, on some deeper level, he loved her just like she wanted; but, he would never truly know. As said already, emotions were long lost to him in their true forms. Nikoru got up, running after him as Itachi turned and knelt down in front of Hotaru, placing a hand on her arm and rubbing it with his thumb lightly.

"You'll be fine." He murmured softly. She looked up at him, watching him smile through his eyes at her. She lurched forward, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her face in his hair, whimpering.

"I want to be..." She murmured back, feeling one of his arms slowly reach up to barely hold her, almost timid in its touch. "But, I don't think that'll work this time..." She pulled back from him, smiling emptily as she rose to her feet and touched his hair lightly, running her fingers over his cheek and through his bangs as she turned and walked out of the door, leaving him looking after her from his crouch on the floor.

Nikoru followed Madara outside, calling his name over and over again, begging for him to turn around and not to leave her. She stopped on the walkway, grabbing hold of one of the support beams, hugging it tightly as she watched him walk down the path and towards the point in the yard they had been instructed to never go to; the part where the ninjutsu protecting them was null and void. "Tobi! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! Please, don't leave me! We can be friends again, I promise! You don't have to love me, just come back! I'm sorry!" She reached out for him again, sobbing as the tears left sticky tracks down her heated cheeks. Finally, he turned to face her, the wind tossing his cloak about, pushing hair across his eye softly.

He pulled the cloak off, dropping it to the ground and smiling at her. "You'll be fine, Nikoru. You've got plenty of friends here without me." He called out to her, waving lightly before turning again. "You'll see me again! And when you do, I promise, you'll wish you hadn't." He assured her over his shoulder, but she shrieked and stomped a foot in rage.

"Tobi, you bastard! WHEN I see you again I'm going to tear out your other eye!" She screamed, watching him fade off into the distance. "You had better not tell anyone my secrets either! Or make love to anyone else!" She remained standing and watching after him long after he was gone.

Hotaru walked outside, pausing next to her and staring off into the distance, though Nikoru was sure she was looking at another fixed position. "So, he let you alone after all..." Nikoru turned to look at Hotaru as she spoke, making her slowly turn her emerald eyes to her own.

"I suppose he did." Hotaru murmured, looking away from her and into the distance again. Nikoru felt her eye harden towards her lifelong best friend. Part of her hated her for everything that had happened today. Part of her blamed the girl. Part of her knew it was her fault Tobi had left her. Tobi had revealed himself as that bastard, had given up everything, just so he could take Hotaru and make babies with her. He had made love to Nikoru every night for gods knew how many nights, and it meant nothing to him. So little, that he was willing to forget her and just leave her behind to go fuck her best friend till he knocked her up a few good times. Part of Nikoru wanted to make sure Hotaru could NEVER have children again. And, with that, she recalled something that made her bitterly perk up a little.

"Hey, Hotaru-chan...I thought you had an accident during the chunine exams that now prevents you from having children." She commented easily, making Hotaru look to her with those tired and soulless eyes again.

"I did. But, they said if I tried it could go one of two ways. I would have the child, but die during the birth, or I wouldn't have one at all." She shrugged casually, though her eyes narrowed at her friend before she looked away again; as if talking to her was something she no longer wanted to do. Nikoru winced slightly, not failing to catch to acid in her words and suddenly feeling bad for turning on her friend as easily as she had.

"I'm sorry..." She looked to her feet and mumbled quietly. "This whole thing has gotten me worked up into some weird sort of frenzy." She muttered, looking out into the yard now. "I just want to either scream at people or cry." She whimpered now. "And, I want to blame everyone for it all..." Hotaru moved over to her, putting a hand on her shoulder and making her turn towards her again. She was smiling gently, comfortingly, like she understood everything.

"Now you know how it feels to be utterly alone inside...and to lose someone so close to you that you don't know if you can go on living." She pulled Nikoru into a hug, listening to her beginning to cry again, embracing her tightly.

"I-I didn't want him to go away. I was just upet he lied to me! I ca-can't believe he lied! A-and...he doesn't love me...What kind of person doesn't love someone they SAY they love?" She sobbed, feeling Hotaru stroking her hair and back softly as she nodded and continued to listen.

"I know, honey, I know. Now, come on...let's get you inside and in a bed." Hotaru gently began to guide Nikoru back inside, knowing she didn't need to go into Itachi's room again, or Tobi's room. So, she led her into a very neutral room; Deidara and Sasori's. They closed the door behind themselves and locked it; not really knowing or caring when they were going to come back out again. And no one could say anything to stop them.


	19. Suspected Surprises

_~~**~~This is basically the final chapter to "Akatsuki House of OC2"; well, it was the closet to the final chapter as I could get. We never finished the story, long forgetting it for other Akatsuki stories-that will be posted soon-lol But, this actually wasn't supposed to be part of the story at all. I was just fooling around with the idea of the boys having to deal with a pregnant Hotaru, who would be like a pregnant woman, but on steroids XD But, since we abandoned the story, I decided to add it in as the final chapter.~~**~~_

"Known Surprises"

' _"Where's father…?" His mother turned and looked at him with a smile, stirring something in a pot on the stove._

_"Oh, Fugaku?" She mused and he nodded, staring at the floor with a slightly open mouth, panting softly from the dream. He had had it again…and couldn't take being in here with his mother and Sasuke smiling and staring at him…especially Sasuke. "Don't you remember?" His mother wondered, glancing over her shoulder at him as he looked up at her in confusion. She turned to face him fully, wiping her hands on her apron as she and Sasuke beamed happily at him. "You killed him." '_

Itachi jolted awake, crying out quietly as he sat up bolt right. He wiped sweat off his brow, closing his eyes and catching his breath as he tried to calm himself. A dream within a dream…who DID that? He shook his head, trying to get his mother's voice to leave him be and Sasuke's smile to go away. He knew just what would make him feel better though. He reached off to the side, glancing down at the bed, but frowning. Hotaru wasn't lying by him like she usually was…she was usually the one he had to wake up, not the other way around. He looked around the room, seeing her clothes still tossed on the floor, so knowing she couldn't have gotten far; unless she had taken one of his shirts again. He got out of the bed, tying the drawstring to his pants and pulling his hair back as he left the room.

He started down the hallway when the partially opened bathroom door paused him. He frowned, hearing something strange going on inside. Walking over to the door he placed a hand on the handle, peering inside. The sound was someone getting sick. All of them rarely got sick around here…He looked inside the bathroom and saw Hotaru knelt in front of the toilet, one hand loosely holding onto its side as her other hand tried to hold back her hair. It kept falling in her eyes and a few strands were already wet and matted together with her sickness. He sighed and let his eyes soften at the sight, opening the door and walking inside.

She glanced up at him, coughing and wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. He started towards her, but she held out the same hand, shaking her head and groaning. "D-don't come near me…I don't wan-want to…!" She never finished her sentence. Her eyes widened and she grabbed hold of her stomach, doubling over and spilling her contents into the toilet, her hair falling into her eyes again. He ignored her warnings, walking behind her and scooping her hair into his hands, gently holding it back from her face.

She continued to quiver all over, coughing and dry heaving in between actual vomiting. Tears tracked down her face slowly, few and far between, as though the pain were too much to actually cry about. "It hurts…" She whined, resting her cheek against the cool porcelain of the toilet before wincing and turning to lean back over the now multi-colored water, her body rocking forward with the force of her heave.

Itachi seemed unphased by the sickness, shaking his head and continuing to hold her hair. "I know it does…just try and get it all out…" He mumbled, lifting her hair and putting his free hand flat on the back of her neck. It was hot and his hands were cool, like built in ice packs. She gasped, but closed her eyes and relaxed while she had the chance, panting quietly.

"I-I don't understand…I felt FINE last night…" She murmured, resting her cheek against the toilet rim once more. She didn't honestly care at the moment that she was hugging a toilet that gods knew who had used for what…She just knew that it was cold and felt really good against her skin. Her knees were beginning to ache though and her stomach wouldn't stop churning and grumbling loudly.

Itachi shook his head lightly, "Sometimes these things just happen. How long have you been up doing this?" he wondered and she groaned, giving herself over to another spell of sickness before coughing and moaning in pain again. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand once more, leaving a sticky trail over it before reaching out and flushing the toilet.

"I don't know…it feels like hours though…" She leaned back on her hands, dropping her head back and looking up at him, careful to keep her mouth closed so as not to breathe in his face. He stood up, letting go of her hair and offering her his hand. She reached out and shakily took it, groaning again as she rose to her feet. At first her body didn't want to support her weight and she collapsed forward, but she shot a hand out and caught the counter, righting herself before Itachi could catch her and help her back up.

She stood up on her own, walking over to the sink and turning on the water, splashing it on her face and sloshing some around in her mouth before spitting it back out. She started to brush her teeth, almost gagging on the taste of the toothpaste. Itachi stood in the background, calmly waiting as he leaned against the wall and watched her, wondering how she could recover so quickly from such a round of sickness.

When she was done she turned back to him and he noticed that she had no clothing on. "You didn't grab something to wear before coming in here?" He wondered as she dried her mouth and hands off. She tossed the towel over her shoulder, letting it land easily on the edge of the sink as she began to walk past him.

"I didn't exactly have time; unless you wanted me to ruin your carpet." She gestured to the door, but he didn't look.

"You don't care that one of them could have seen you?" He opened the door for her, not having a shirt on to give her to wear. She shook her head.

"Not like they all haven't already. I mean, think about it." She walked into his room ahead of him, bending over and rummaging on the floor for her clothes. He nodded tiredly.

"I suppose…but you don't have to treat it so casually." He offered, turning and walking out of the room as she got dressed. He frowned and thought as he walked down the hallway and into the kitchen. He only knew of one kind of sickness that came and went like that…but she wasn't showing other signs of it…so that couldn't be it, right?

Hotaru walked into the kitchen, the boys dispersed throughout it and the living room, talking and going about business as usual. She turned to see Nikoru trying to cook with Kisame, but she was burning whatever she was making; badly. Hotaru frowned, crinkling her nose up and feeling sick again at the smell. "Ugh, what in the WORLD are you making, Nikoru?" She gagged, making the girl turn around with a blush and nervous laugh. "Or TRYING to make. Gawd, it stinks!" She stuck her tongue out, waving a hand in front of her face as Nikoru blinked in some surprise at her.

"I-I was trying to make an omelet…Kisame's trying to teach me…" She mumbled, watching Hotaru sit down at the table, still making a face.

"Don't be so mean, Hotaru-chan. Nikoru-chan's trying her best." Kisame chided, patting Nikoru on her head and making her smile up at him.

"Pfft, when it doesn't smell like burnt shit in here I'll be nicer." Hotaru grumbled, slumping in her chair and holding her stomach with a light hand. Itachi looked at her calmly from across the table, studying her as she crinkled her nose up at almost every smell she came in contact with. Some kind of fear sunk into the pit of his stomach as he realized she was now showing three signs of the sickness he was beginning to think she had.

He looked up, "Nikoru, I need to talk to you." She turned in surprise again, staring at him blankly for a moment.

"About what?" She wondered, but he shook his head.

"We need to talk in private." This made her tilt her head and caught Hotaru's attention. She glared across the table at Itachi suddenly.

"Oh what, I'm not enough for you now?" she snapped and they all looked at her in surprise. The boys had started to suspect Hotaru and Itachi were on MUCH friendlier terms now, but they had never had solid proof. Now they all stared and waited on Itachi's answer and next move. His face had failed to move from its empty mask.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He waved her off, turning back to Nikoru, "Can you step around the corner with me?" he wondered and she nodded slowly.

"That door had better stay open! If I find out some kind of shit has gone down between you two I'm tearing your hearts out!" Hotaru called after them angrily, turning in her chair to glare at their backs as they walked around the corner. She turned back around, holding onto her stomach again and dropping her head, beginning to cry. Kisame blinked, slowly taking a step towards her and reaching out his hand.

"Umm…Hotaru-chan…? Are you…uh, are you okay?" She was beginning to scare all of them, because she was acting ALOT weirder than usual. She sobbed, shaking her head and moaning.

"I feel sick and I ache and Itachi doesn't love me!" She cried out, lifting her head to stare at him with big eyes. "I don't understand, I've been good, I do whatever he asks me to in bed…why does he need Nikoru now? Am I not enough? Is it because I'm getting FAT?" She bawled, letting out an anguished cry and dropping her head into her hands again. Kisame looked around for help, but the boys held up their hands in confusion and at an utter loss for words or solutions. Kisame looked back down at her.

"Umm…I'm sure it's nothing like that, Hotaru. I'm sure he's just going to talk to Nikoru…" He offered, reaching out hesitantly to touch her shoulders. It was awkward enough as it was having to talk about Itachi's new love-life, but to have to talk with her about it while she was crying about it?

"I'm so FAT! Why aren't I pretty like Nikoru? Even Deidara's a prettier girl than me!" She sobbed loudly, pointing to Deidara without looking at him.

"I am NOT a girl! How many times do I have to TELL you this? I mean, listen to my VOICE! What are you RETARDED?" He barked angrily at her. She let out a louder sob and Kisame glared at him, patting her back as she nodded her head.

"I AM retarded! What the hell?" she whined and they all groaned loudly.

Itachi shut the door as Nikoru walked into the room and glanced around, then turned back to him uneasily. "What is it, Itachi?" She wondered and he sighed, shaking his head and putting a hand on his forehead.

"Do you think Hotaru's acting weird?" He wondered and she nodded. At that moment they heard Hotaru's shouts and cries of anguish and despair over being fat and ugly. They both shook their heads, then looked at each other again.

"She's acting VERY weird." Nikoru agreed and Itachi nodded, that fear sinking deeper and deeper into his stomach.

"She was already up this morning when I woke up…She was in the bathroom puking." He told her and Nikoru tilted her head.

"So she's sick? Huh…what kind of sickness screws with your mind like that AND your body?" she tried to think back to all of Usagi's ramblings about her medical stuff, but could think of little other than things that applied directly to her. Itachi shook his head again, pinching the skin between his brows in frustration. He had to pick the dense one to talk to about this.

"Only one." He grumbled, then looked at her as she waited on his answer. "Are there tests to see if someone's pregnant?" He wondered and she blinked at him in shock, stunned to silence for a moment.

"B-but…she CAN'T be! There's no way!" She shook her head and put her hand over her mouth, staring at Itachi's empty face as she realized now all their suspicions about the two of them being closer now were just confirmed. "Oh my god! She's gonna die!" She gasped, sitting heavily on the bed and staring off into space. Itachi waited for her to get over the shock, feeling some kind of the same on the inside, but not allowing himself to show anything until he knew for sure.

"So, are there tests?" He asked again and Nikoru blinked, shrugging slowly, then looking up at him with blank eyes.

"I-I mean…I GUESS there are…but I can only think of a medic in our village that could tell us…" She mumbled, her hand still over her mouth loosely as she tried to process everything. Itachi frowned, knowing they couldn't really go seek out a medic or bring one back here. Then he got an idea.

"Pein." Nikoru looked up, then nodded. They left the room in a bit of a hurry, going towards Hotaru's loud voice. She was shouting at Deidara now and they were getting ready to start butting chests like testosterone pumped men. The other boys had taken to sitting around and were watching with interested eyes. "Hotaru, that's enough." She spun on Itachi's voice, her face immediately softening as she ran to him.

"Oh I'm so glad you're back! I was so worried about you!" She gushed, hugging him tightly. He pulled her off of him.

"Come with me, we need to go talk to Pein." He told her calmly and she looked at him in question.

"Why? What's Leader got to do with anything?" He was already beginning to lead her off though, back down the hallway and towards the stairwell that Pein and Konan often hid up.

"Just come with me." He banged on the door loudly, then opened it and started up, leading Hotaru by the upper arm. As they disappeared Nikoru looked at the boys, beginning to tell them of Itachi's suspicions and what he was going to do.

Pein stared hard at Itachi and Hotaru, Konan sitting calmly at his side. "What in the HELL gave you the idea to just BUST in here like that?" Pein snarled, but Itachi failed to really care about his emotions or upset now. Hotaru kept staring at Konan, having rarely seen her or come into contact with her. She normally hid upstairs, not wanting anything to do with the boys or the girls.

"Why in the world do you wear that big flower on your head?" She wondered, pointing to the white rose Konan wore nestled among her blue hair. She smiled calmly, getting ready to speak when Hotaru cocked a hip out, raising a brow and putting her free hand on her hip. "I mean, you're ugly enough as it is. Shit's still shit, even if its got a big bow on it, you know?" She offered up this little tid-bit of wisdom casually, shrugging as Itachi continued to hold onto her upper arm. He slapped a hand over his face as Pein's face became enraged and Konan stared in shock. Itachi held out a hand as Pein went to start yelling.

"She's been like this all morning, just ignore it. I need you to do me a favor." He stated, but Pein shook his head violently.

"You come up here demanding favors, bringing that bitch with you so she can insult Konan then you expect me to continue with the favors?" He shouted, stomping a foot and rattling the baseboards of the room. Hotaru glared, stepping up to defend Itachi and herself, but he jerked her backwards into him, slapping his free hand over her mouth.

"Just listen, I need you to look at her and tell me if she's pregnant." Hotaru stopped her struggling to go wide eyed and stare up at Itachi like he was mad. Pein looked confused, but still upset.

"What makes you think I can do such a thing? Or WOULD if I could." He huffed and Itachi's eyes narrowed.

"A: Because you're SIX gods and B: Because you're going to want to know if we're going to need to hospitalize her before she goes into labor and has a baby in the hideout." They were two very good points. Hotaru was starting to struggle now, frowning and yet looking shocked and confused, beginning to go wild that they were actually entertaining the idea of her being pregnant. She couldn't be, she could only have Sasuke's child; no one else's. Pein nodded after a moment.

"Hold her still." He murmured, his eyes beginning to glow as he stared at her stomach, furrowing his brows. "I need to see her stomach without the cloth." He stated calmly and Itachi nodded, at the point of doing anything just to know. He grabbed the hem of Hotaru's kimono and jerked it up to her breasts, making her cry out in rage behind his hand. She bit down on his fingers, but he only winced and continued holding her as she writhed, squirming and trying to bend over backwards in his grasp, trying to wriggle her head out of his hold.

Pein's eyes stopped glowing and he closed them, letting out a sigh that Itachi didn't know what to make of. "So?" He pulled Hotaru's kimono back down around her thighs, and reasserted his grip on her, to keep her from saying anything REALLY stupid. Pein sat down heavily in his chair, his eyes still closed. He pinched the bridge of his nose, furrowing his brow as he apparently tried to discern what he had just learned and what needed to be spoken of.

"Honey…he needs to know…it's kind of important." Konan murmured, touching Pein's arm lightly, her voice soft and gentle. It seemed to pull him out of his thoughts. His eyes landed on Itachi's own.

"She is. And it's your's."

Itachi released Hotaru, feeling her body tense as the words fell on her ears. She fell to the floor on her ass, staring wide eyed and slack jawed at Pein and Konan's feet. Itachi stared too, his hands resting limply at his side now as his mind processed and mulled over this information. "How long…?" He muttered, his voice hardly there at all. Pein blinked, looking between the two of them.

"Seven weeks. We know many things, but we wonder if we should tell you all of them." His voice was changing as he spoke, shifting between six different planes of existence, making his sentence flow like different sounding waves. Hotaru coughed, still staring into nothing as her body and mind fell into shock.

"She must be taken care of now…She is the holder of the Uchiha legacy." One of Pein's calmer voices stated, making Itachi nod slowly and atomically, though he didn't appear to be listening at all.

"She holds two children within her stomach…One a boy and one a girl." This voice sounded deeper and more of a growl than anything. Hotaru put a hand over her mouth, her other resting over her stomach as she shook her head slowly.

"They hold her life in their tiny hands…She may die or live through their birth…" Another voice, this one sounding like a long hiss as it spoke, reminding her of Zetsu's black side.

"But, even we cannot see that far." His voice became normal again and he blinked, sighing softly, as if that took a lot out of him every time.

Slowly Hotaru looked up at Itachi, seeing him just as surprised and just as in shock as she was. He slowly turned to her, their eyes locking as they wondered what was going to happen next. Slowly she rose to her feet, tears spilling out of her eyes again as she put her hands over her mouth once more. She honestly didn't know how she should feel about all of this. She wanted to be happy, she wanted to be so happy, but she hated it all at the same time.

She turned towards the stairs, stopping at the top of them to rest a hand over her stomach instinctively, then hold out a hand for Itachi. He studied her hand for a long time, finally walking over to her side and slowly taking hold of it. They descended the stairs, still wondering what their next steps would be.

They were greeted with utter silence. Looking up as they entered into the kitchen everyone was staring hard at them. Itachi released Hotaru's hand and she blushed, looking away and at the floor.

He looked over everyone's faces, realizing they were on the edges of their seats. He glanced away too, looking at the floor opposite of Hotaru. Nikoru blinked, studying Hotaru's hand over her stomach, then seeing both of their confused blushes. She squealed, "Hotaru that's FANTASTIC!" she cried out, running over and hugging her best friend around the neck tightly. Hotaru gasped softly, but smiled lightly and hugged Nikoru back.

"But…Sasuke…" She muttered, but Nikoru pulled back and shook her head.

"No, no, no, forget him! You've got a great new life ahead of you now!" she cried out, bouncing up and down. Hidan shouted in upset loudly, slapping a hand on the table before reaching into his pocket, grumbling as Kakuzu cackled and held out his hand. Hidan put money in it, muttering about how Itachi needed to keep it in his pants, and walking out in rage as Kakuzu counted his money. "Do you know how far along you are?" Nikoru ignored the whole scene, taking hold of Hotaru's shoulders and beaming, still more excited about it than she really should be. Hotaru looked up at her, trailing a finger over her still flat stomach.

"Seven weeks…with twins…" She mumbled as Kisame came over and cuffed Itachi hard on the shoulder.

"Man, I knew you always had it in you, Itachi. I always knew." He grinned, but Itachi simply shrugged.

"Oh my gods, Hotaru that's GREAT! Wait until everyone back HOME hears!" Nikoru squealed blissfully, making Hotaru look at Itachi and him at her. That was something they hadn't thought about…what were they going to do about living arrangements? Itachi obviously couldn't walk back into the village simply because he just restarted the clan…but, she couldn't live outside of the village and away from what was now her family.

Nikoru kept prattling on about baby showers and nurseries and how Usagi would help with the birthing and make sure nothing went wrong, and so on and so on…but, Hotaru barely heard at all. She reached out, grabbing hold of Itachi's pinky-finger and wrapping her hand around it in fear as both of them studied each other; each having gotten something they desperately wanted, and now not knowing what to do with it or about it.

_~~**~~As a final side-note, we had long ago decided what would happen if we ever picked up the story again and began writing it again. Hotaru would be pregnant and Itachi would slowly come to terms with being a happy father. But, just as they settled in for things to take their course, Sasuke was going to show back up. Now, it wouldn't be too far after this piece because Hotaru wouldn't be able to be showing too much. Sasuke would find out about the pregnancy and terminate it, deeming the children as unholy and unwanted. Then he would kill Itachi like he originally planned. He would stay at the hideout with everyone, taking up his brother's mantle, though no one wants him around. When Hotaru awakens to find her babies gone and their father, she'd flip out. But, Sasuke would insist she attempt to restart the clan with him; and make sure she did, whether she liked it or not. The end lol~~**~~_


End file.
